


Fluffinator: On The Origins of Love

by Pitkin



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Multi, fluffinator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-07-21 13:56:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 31,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7389664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pitkin/pseuds/Pitkin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jemma Simmons loathed baseball.</p><p><b>Correction:</b> Jemma Simmons loathed being stuck watching a (potentially) three-plus hour sporting event she was entirely clueless about (outside of a handful of movie references she could still spout off the top of her head from repeated viewings of A League of Their Own she had watched with Bobbi) in the heat of the summer while she was quite literally fifth wheeling it with her two best friends and the current objects of their respective affections.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sexual Cartographers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Panyan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panyan/gifts).



Jemma Simmons loathed baseball.

**Correction:** Jemma Simmons loathed being stuck watching a (potentially) three-plus hour sporting event she was entirely clueless about (outside of a handful of movie references she could still spout off the top of her head from repeated viewings of  _ A League of Their Own _ she had watched with Bobbi) in the heat of the summer while she was quite literally fifth wheeling it with her two best friends and the current objects of their respective affections.

Just over two weeks ago, Fitz and Bobbi had talked her into the outing. Jemma loved the wild differences between her two best friends but she had, at the time, had no idea what had gotten into the two of them to make them so gung-ho about going to a baseball game. As far as Jemma knew, Fitz’s knowledge of baseball was about on par with Jemma’s own and Bobbi…well, Jemma could see Bobbi liking a sport since she was rather athletic in her own right.

Within twenty-four hours of agreeing, both Fitz and Bobbi had cornered Jemma individually and made their case for adding an additional guest to their baseball night out. Jemma had thought it peculiar that they had done this in the same day but it wasn’t until her walk to the nearby diner she was currently working in while finishing the second of her two PhDs that she realized she had been hoodwinked into being the fifth wheel of the night. She had grumbled about this the next day to Bobbi, who had immediately started asking her if there was someone she might want to bring along with her. When she ran into Fitz the day after that, she again expressed her displeasure at being their fifth wheel and he, too, tried to prod her about whether or not she wanted to bring anyone along with her.

Jemma had no one to bring along with her. Fitz and Bobbi were her someones and they were already going, along with Mack and Lance, both of whom Jemma had only met once each. She didn’t necessarily dislike them at all but, then again, she didn’t really know them and obviously as the fifth wheel, Jemma was going to spend the night largely by herself or intruding on their dates. Fitz and Bobbi both insisted that this wasn’t going to happen but Jemma had been their fifth wheel plenty of times before so she knew what was what.

And, in the end, here she was, in Citizen’s Bank Park, with a brand new Philadelphia Phillies red and white baseball cap on, her hair hanging down in front of and behind her ears and shoulders, beer in hand, the US National Anthem already sung and preparing to watch her first ever inning of baseball. She wondered if it stacked up to cricket at all. She had spent most of their dinner out on South Street staring blankly at Bobbi and Mack as they tried to explain the rules to her while Fitz interjected random comments and Lance told her she’d ‘pick it up on [her] own as she watched, don’t worry about it, yeah?’

To her right, Bobbi was leaning over the armrest between her and Lance, curled into his side, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her shoulders, both of them in various appropriate fan gear adornments, teasing each other and smirking crooked moony little grins at each other, verbally sparring and poking each other in the ribs occasionally in jest. Jemma had no doubt that by the end of the first half, or whatever, they would be lip locked together. To Lance’s right, Mack and Fitz were in a heated engineering-related conversation on the mechanics of specific angles and trajectories that are possibly because of the specific design and composition of a baseball bat. Honestly, catching glimpses of them or overhearing their conversations was adorable in Jemma’s opinion, it really was, really.

She looked to her left and saw that there was no one in the aisle seat next to her. Jemma wasn’t exactly the best at jumping into conversations with strangers, but she had planned on trying it if the person who wound up next to her seemed intriguing enough. Unfortunately, it looked like no one would be claiming the seat next to her, which was a bummer. It was early in the evening on a pleasantly sunny early September day. The sun was beginning its descent but the players would have quite some time before it was fully dark yet. There had been a thunderstorm the night before, which had left the humidity much lower than it had been during the previous week. There was a nice breeze floating through the stadium, which was fairly packed for a Monday night game, Jemma supposed. She didn’t know enough about baseball to know if the stadiums packed like this normally on weeknight home games.

Their seats were in the lower level of what Bobbi had told her was the ‘outfield,’ and Mack had told her that they were on ‘the right field side.’ The cracking sound of bat crashing against ball at the home plate area drew Jemma’s attention. Her eyes followed the ball as she took a sip from the cup of beer in her hand. The player closest to where they were sitting sprinted in towards the space between first and second base and went sliding in the grass. He came up holding the ball he had caught during his slide and Jemma heard the umpire’s loud shout to call the batter out.

\--

For four innings - that’s what they were called, Jemma had picked that much up finally -  _ four _ whole innings, Jemma watched everything going on out on the field. She felt no more knowledgeable about this silly game than she had been before they’d settled in their seats at the stadium. She had also just bought her third beer of the night from one of the vendors wandering through the crowd with plastic tubs of beer cans and plastic cups.

“You look like you’re having a terrible time,” Bobbi poked her in the arm.

Jemma murmured in her best (read: a very terrible) Jimmy Dugan impression, “I’m a goddamn peach!” without looking away from the field. Recognizing the quote instantly, Bobbi tipped her head toward Lance’s shoulder and laughed. Since she didn’t look away from the game, she didn’t noticed Lance and Mack exchanging terribly caveman-esque sign language between them, miming out as if they thought something was past due.

“What’d I miss?” This voice was unfamiliar to Jemma but it was rather buoyant and cheerful. She looked over to see the voice’s owner, a slender, fit young woman with golden honey colored skin, dark chocolate brown hair as she stepped in from the aisle to the empty space next to Jemma. She tugged her unzipped hoodie off by the sleeve cuffs and let it fall to the chair. Clad in blue jeans, red colored converse and a white three-quarter sleeve henley baseball tee with red sleeves and the team’s logo on the middle of the chest, the new arrival turned to fix her gaze on her and Jemma realized that her she had dark brown eyes that perfectly matched the ombré of her hair. Despite their dark color, they were alight with warmth and mischief. Between the enchanting smile the woman flashed her, which only served to light up the stranger’s entire face in a stunningly beautiful glow, and the warm, gleeful gaze in her eyes, Jemma was left gaping silently at newcomer

The lovely stranger dropped gracefully into the seat next to her and crossed her legs one over the other so she was angled slightly more toward Jemma than towards the game. She had pulled a beat up old baseball cap, all red with a similar white ‘P’ logo on the front to Jemma’s, from her back pocket before sitting. She arched her eyebrows curiously at Jemma as she put the cap on, backwards, and a bit behind the front of her hairline, over top of her dark waves, which had been done up in a Katniss braid over her left shoulder. A few carefully placed wisps of hair hung along her temples, as if having strayed from the braid on their own. Jemma felt Bobbi’s elbow nudge into the back of her left shoulder, though she was careful not to look back at her friend with the glare she wanted to give since she was too busy gaping at the celestial being that had simply floated into the seat next to hers as if the breeze had blown her in for a visit.

“Erm…” Jemma stammered a moment. She cleared her throat and straightened in her seat just slightly. Tearing her gaze from the beautiful stranger, Jemma glanced at the game, looked back to the stranger and then glanced at the game again. Leaning her elbow on the armrest between them, she leaned slightly toward the woman who, in turn, leaned her upper body closer to Jemma as if knowing she was about to divulge some kind of secret. “Honestly, I haven’t a clue - but! True to everything I know about the game...there has indeed been no crying thus far,” She replied, doing her best to keep her stammering to a minimum as the honeysuckle scent of either the woman’s shampoo or soap wafted through the breeze to invade Jemma’s nostrils. Her own mouth was twisted into a crooked grin and, to her supreme delight, her comment caused the stranger to tip her cap-covered head back as she let out a loud snort of laughter and flashed her another dazzling grin full of pearly white teeth. Jemma felt the wobble of her innards as the infectious sound of the woman’s laughter stirred her gut and sent warmth rolling through her in melodic waves with the sound. Jemma beamed a grin at the woman.

“Jimmy Dugan knows his shit!” The stranger exclaimed with a chuckle. Glancing past Jemma and over, first, at Bobbi and Lance and then Fitz and Mack in kind, engrossed in their own conversations and lip locks, the woman scrunched up her nose. “Fifth wheeled ya, didn’t they?” She jerked her chin toward the quartet to Jemma’s left.

Jemma glanced toward her friends and then turned back to the woman with a shoulder dropping light sigh. “They mean well,” She smirked and rolled her eyes good-naturedly before she gave the stranger a ‘whattaya gonna do?’ shrug. She lifted her beer for a small sip.

The stranger rested her elbow directly next to Jemma’s, seeming not to care at all as their arms touched. She was actually leaning into Jemma as she turned toward the game again. For a moment she eyed up the scoreboard and listened to the announcer as her eyes scanned over the field as well. Jemma inhaled through her nose, wanting more of that sweet honeysuckle scent to fill up her senses. At once, after she seemed to catch up on what she had missed in the last few innings, the beautiful stranger began explaining what was going on and different rules of the game as different plays happened around the field in front of them and Jemma suddenly found herself not minding one bit that there were five whole innings of the game left to play.

\--

“How can you come to a baseball game and not have peanuts and hot dogs?!” The honey skinned beauty demanded of Jemma in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jemma thought she was maybe getting the hang of this game! Whenever she was unsure, she asked the stranger a question and the woman obliged her with another explanation with animated enthusiasm. Jemma bought her a beer, insisting it was to keep the woman's throat from going dry as she had to keep explaining the rules to Jemma.

“I don't know!” Jemma blurted in reply, unable to stop from feeding off of this woman's energy and warmth. Jemma Simmons was not a prude by any stretch of the word. She knew how to get an itch scratched and then move on just as well as anyone else if that was what she wanted to do. It had been a long time however, since she had felt a near instantaneous attraction to someone, either male or female, and the longer she talked with this woman, the stronger the pull in belly grew. “This is my first encounter with a real live baseball game! I don't know...proper etiquette!!” she exclaimed with a chuckle before immediately delighting in the way the stranger threw her head back and bellowed out a roar of laughter.

“Okay, fair, enough, London,” The woman grinned at her and then looked around their vicinity. “I'll set you straight, don't you worry,” she blindly reached over and gave Jemma’s closest knee a few pats before she looked over and spotted the vendor she was looking for. Raising her hand to her mouth as she turned toward that direction, she curled her forefinger and thumb into an ‘o’ shape, twisted her tongue in and pressed her fingers inside her curled in lips. With a deep breath she let out a long, loud looping wolf whistle. The vendor looked up and around. The woman signaled to him and cupped one hand to the side of her mouth. “One peanut, two dogs!” She called to him. The vendor nodded and held his finger up to let her know he'd be there in a minute and the stranger reached into her pocket for some wrinkled paper bills.

“Oh, let me!” Jemma tried to help pay, but the stranger insisted she had it. Once they were settled, each with a hot dog and a beer and with the peanuts between them, they turned back to the game. Their conversation now interlaced with random questions about the city, more  _ A League of Their Own _ quotes, random dancing to some of the songs played between game plays and innings, joining a rousing few rounds of the wave. Jemma was into it. She was so into it that she forgot she was even there with Bobbi, Lance, Fitz and Mack for a while as she and the woman munched on their hot dogs and peanuts and sipped on their beer refills.

Jemma really got a kick out of the stranger’s little nickname for her and, at some point, she told the woman exactly where in the UK she was actually from (Ashburton, Devon) and where that was in relation to London, in turn she found out that the woman was born in Chicago but had lived in Philadelphia for almost a decade. A heavy crack alerted them to the current Phillies batter had garnered a strong hit. Both women’s heads snapped to the field. Both stood up from their seats without taking their eyes off the ball as it came flying in their direction.

“Comin’ right for ya, London,” The stranger said in a singsong warning tone.

“What do we do if it comes to us?!” Jemma asked in alarm, eyes wide.

“Catch it!” The woman beside her laughed and Jemma felt that warm bubble spread in waves from her gut, radiating outward through to the tips of her fingers and toes. She bounced on her toes excitedly and kept her eyes on the ball. The woman stepped to the right a bit and Jemma unconsciously stepped that way after her. Hands from the rows in front of and behind her reached as she held her own hands out to catch the small white ball heading for her.

The beautiful stranger, knocked into a few of the arms to keep them from snatching the moment of glory away from her and, without a clue how she had done it, Jemma’s hands closed around the ball as it fell into her chest. A wild chorus of cheers went up around the stadium for the home run. Jemma thrust her hand in the air, gripping the ball tightly in gleeful surprise at her new souvenir!! She turned toward the stranger, who was grinning, laughing and clapping as she cheered, and held the ball out. “I CAUGHT IT!” Jemma cheered triumphantly.

“Way to go!” The woman held her hand up for a high-five and Jemma enthusiastically obliged, slapping her palm to the woman’s as the crowd around them began to quiet down and move back to their seats. Jemma slipped into her own seat between Bobbi and the stranger. Oh right! Bobbi! Lance, Fitz and Mack! Jemma turned to them to show them her excellent catch of the day (the ball, not the stranger) and completely missed the stranger finally giving a small wave to Mack and Lance from behind her.

A few minutes later, the inning ended and the seventh-inning stretch commenced. Jemma had heard the term before. It made more sense now that she had been in the stadium so long to experience seven innings of baseball! She was pleasantly buzzed, if a little chilly. She stretched a bit to crack her shoulders and when the stranger caught sight of her shivering in her ill-prepared t-shirt and jeans, she offer Jemma her sweatshirt since she wasn’t wearing it. Jemma was just inebriated enough not to think much of the sweet offer and thanked her profusely as she slipped into the jacket, which was just a bit big on her. She zipped it up and silently delighted in the way it smelled like a mixture of the honeysuckle soap or shampoo and jasmine, possibly from perfume? Jemma didn’t know but she had to resist the urge to bring the collar of the sweatshirt to her nose to take in the scent. She stowed the baseball in the jacket’s pocket just as the jumbo-tron screen began making the rounds with the kiss-cam.

Jemma and her new friend were chuckling along with everyone else at the funny little shots of people kissing or refusing to kiss while playing Prince’s song,  _ Kiss _ , loudly through the arena to varying degrees of cheers. When the camera landed on Jemma and her new friend, the beautiful stranger, after having spotted Jemma during her enthusiastic antics after catching the homerun ball earlier, Jemma was just the right amount of intoxicated, free of just the right amount of inhibition and so into the moment of how the outing had turned around into a fantastic time that when the two of them looked at each other after realizing they were on the kiss-cam, Jemma merely reacted. She reached out, snaked one hand behind the woman’s neck and used the other to grab a small handful of the collar of her shirt and pulled her in swiftly to bring their mouths crashing together. The stranger’s eyebrows shot up her forehead when Jemma grabbed her and her mouth flew open in surprise. She had time to gasp in shock before Jemma was kissing her, but she did not pull away. In fact it was quite the opposite. When her brain caught up, her lips pulled in time against Jemma’s to a raucous cacophony of cheering the erupted around them as the camera filmed the whole thing.

Jemma was entirely too lost in those brief few moments to hear Bobbi gasp out a, “Simmons!” at that same time that Lance blurted an amused, “Oh, shit!” while Mack laughed and Fitz stared in stammering shock at the two of them.

It was a long few moments, twenty seconds, maybe twenty-five, before their kiss broke, leaving the two of them face to face, and mere inches apart. The stranger’s pupils were blown wide and she blinked a dazed gaze at Jemma who realized, then, what she had just done and flushed pink in the cheeks. She gave the woman a sheepish, almost bashful smile. “I-I’m so sorry!” She blurted. “I shouldn’t have. I don’t even know if you - and I don’t even know your - Oh bollocks, what I mean is...I should-,”

“Do that again,” The woman interrupted Jemma’s attempts to stammer through an apology to finish that sentence the way she wanted it to go. A slow smile spread across the woman’s lips, showing off some of her teeth and the flare of desire in her still slightly blown pupils was enough to make Jemma’s heart do a few loops the loops of excited butterfly flutters. Before Jemma could think to pull away, the woman’s hand was on her cheek and she brought their lips together for a much more chaste kiss than the one Jemma had initiated in her fervor but it was no less enthusiastic.

It lasted only a few quick seconds before the dark haired beauty was smiling sweetly at her as they remained seated, leaning close to each other once the kiss was broken. Jemma’s eyes scanned from the woman’s lips to her face when a thought suddenly struck her. “I don’t know your name,” she blurted.

The woman tipped her head back once more and laughed. She covered her mouth a moment and nickered into it before she stuck her right hand out for Jemma. “I’m Skye,” She introduced herself with a smile. “Officially.”

Jemma beamed a toothy grin at Skye and reached out to firmly shake the proffered hand. Skye’s skin was warm and soft with a smattering of calluses around her fingertips and palms. “Nice to officially meet you Skye,” She said with a bright, lopsided smile. “I’m Jemma.”

“Jemma,” Skye repeated aloud with a small nod. “I like it,” she decided.

This time, Jemma was the one to laugh. She giggled bashfully as Skye shook her hand and approved of her name. Pretty soon they were back to discussing the finer points of the mechanics of baseball while wondering how they could obtain a copy of the kiss-cam video and randomly asking each other personal questions to get better acquainted.

\--

When the game finally ended - with a home-team win, woohooooo! - with fireworks, the stadium slowly began to empty and Jemma felt a sadness tugging at her. She didn’t want the night to end now that her fortune for the evening had turned around so well! She was trying to think of ways she could keep the night going with her newfound friend when her friends began to break into their conversation.

“So, Jem,” Bobbi said, flashing Jemma a very highly amused grin and quirk of her eyebrow. “What’d you think of your first baseball game?”

Jemma turned to look at the others. Her cheeks were flushed a bit pink and she was grinning rather stupidly as she blurted, “It’s been quite lovely!” Mack nickered into the back of his hand. Lance didn’t bother hiding his amusement as he gave her a highly amused thumbs-up. Fitz and Bobbi were smirking at her. “Oh! I almost forgot,” she turned to Skye and then back to the others. “Skye! These are my friends, Bobbi and Fitz and their friends-,”

“Mack and Hunter,” Skye supplied for Jemma. Jemma’s head whipped around to look at Skye in surprise. Before she could say anything, Hunter had reached around Bobbi’s back to greet Skye officially with a quick hand gesture that showed the two obviously knew each other well.

“Thought you’d stood us up, Tremors,” Mack called to her as Jemma’s mouth hung open in confusion and surprise.

“Got a little hung up at work, is all,” Skye called back to him. Her eyes turned to Jemma and she smiled at Jemma’s shock. “Wouldn’t’ve missed this opportunity for all this fun,” She reached up to gently tap the underside of Jemma’s chin so she’d close it.

Jemma closed her mouth and looked between her friends and Skye again. “You  _ know _ each other??” She asked. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Bobbi.

Bobbi put her hands up in innocence. “Hey, don’t look at me, I didn’t pull this one off!” She laughed.

“Yeah, me and Mack go way back. Hunter just likes to tag along with us,” Skye quipped. Jemma blinked and looked at her. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to hoodwink ya. The guys invited me when they said they had an extra ticket and a friend that I might get on well with. They failed, however, to warn me that you were gorgeous...” She said, as casual and cool as she had been when she first arrived and slipped into the seat next to Jemma. Behind Jemma, Bobbi stifled a snicker into the back of her hand, Lance and Mack let out whoops and hollers and Fitz joined in their goading of Skye’s little pick-up quip when it was clear she had already won Jemma over.

Jemma stared at Skye, her cheeks tinging deeper shades of pink and red. She looked away bashfully. She opened her mouth to speak but Fitz beat her to it. “Let’s get out of here, I need to stretch my legs and am feeling peckish!”

“TO THE CHEESESTEAKS!” Bobbi and Mack cheered, pumping triumphant fists in the air. The four of them stood and started shuffling the other way down the row toward the aisle.

Jemma turned towards Skye, her brow furrowed up in thought creases. Skye reached out and ran her fingers along the ripple of one of her worry creases. “I hope this doesn’t ruin the time we had today?” She asked, uncertain of what Jemma might be thinking and anxious to hear her reply.

Jemma was silent for a moment. She stood up from her seat and paused again. A moment later she held her right hand out to Skye. “You heard the battle cry,” she said with a sweet smile as she nodded in the direction their friends had left as if to say, ‘c’mon, let’s go.’

A brilliant smile lit up Skye’s entire face. Her relief and joy radiated out through her finger tips and sparked against Jemma’s palm as she slipped her hand into Jemma’s and stood up. Jemma led the way down the row to catch up with the others, though she took her time doing it so she could have more time chatting with Skye on the way out.

\--

A train ride later and they walked a handful of blocks to South Street to hit up Jim’s Steaks. The group made their way through the line and grabbed their cheesesteak sandwiches to go before strolling down to cross over the South Street foot bridge to take their meal to Penn's landing to enjoy it on the waterfront. Afterward, the group walked some of their greasy sandwiches off heading back across the foot bridge to South Street. Jemma, Bobbi and Fitz all lived in the same place - a very narrow row house on Christian Street that was three stories tall. Each floor was its own apartment so they each had their own space with a shared laundry room in the basement. Jemma was on the first floor, Fitz the second and Bobbi the third.

“Where’d you park the van?” Mack asked Skye as they drew close to the house.

“The new usual place,” Skye said. She and Jemma had progressed to holding hands with their arms wound all around each other’s, fingers locked together. Bobbi and Lance were a handful of paces ahead of them.

“How’d you convince them to let you stay in the alley next to the diner, anyway?” Mack asked.

Skye grinned and shrugged. “I’m charming,” She smiled brightly at Mack who just laughed.

Jemma paused and Skye had to stop when she felt a tug on her arm. Her brow furrowed. “Do you mean next to Avery’s Diner?” she asked.

Skye arched her eyebrows curiously at Jemma. “Yeah,” She nodded. “How’d you know?”

Jemma blinked at her. “The periwinkle blue rusty monstrosity by the green dumpster??” Jemma blurted the question out. Mack cringed and pulled Fitz along to catch up with Bobbi and Lance.

Skye’s face contorted and her muscles tensed a bit. “Ouch,” She murmured. It was the first time all night Jemma had seen a break in Skye’s facade of confidence. “Harsh,” Skye said, seemingly suddenly abashed. “But, yeah...she’s mine,” she conceded with a nod.

Jemma cringed. “Oh, hell,” she sighed. “I thought I’d have put my foot in my mouth multiple times before now,” she said. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you!” She insisted with a frown.

Skye offered her a smile and Jemma felt relief as they resumed walking. “S’okay,” she assured, giving Jemma’s hand a small squeeze. “How did you know?” She asked again.

“I work there!” Jemma blurted with a cheerful chuckle. Skye arched her eyebrows. “At Avery’s!” She grinned broadly. “Surely you’ve gotten my coffee and leftover pie slices?” She asked. “I thought they’d be noticeable if I left them on the hood of the van since whoever was in there would need to see it before turning the ignition over-,”

“That was  _ you _ ?!” Skye stopped their trek this time as her jaw dropped. She had only been parking at the diner for about three weeks. She had noticed the treats being left but never seemed to catch the culprit to thank them. There were many days/nights when her only food had been those pie slices and that cup of coffee.

Jemma was beaming now, proud and excited at this new discovery. “Oh, yes! Linda told me not to worry about who might be coming and going from the van. Said she had talked to the owner and it was alright if you were parked there except for the specific times they came in to empty the dumpster. I asked if it would be okay to share some of the leftover sweets and coffee with its occupant and she said it’d be fine,” she flashed her happy smile at Skye. That’s when Jemma noticed that Skye was staring intently at her, as if she didn’t know whether to cry or to kiss her. “Skye, what’s wrong?” she asked, stepping closer.

Skye’s eyes glistened for just a moment with the sheen of tears before she blinked it away. She shook her head. “Nothing, it’s just…” she cleared her throat and opened her mouth but the words didn’t come so Skye did the next best thing. She reached for the front of her sweatshirt that Jemma was wearing and pulled in to her, leaning down to close the gap between them to deliver a long, lingering, sweet kiss against Jemma’s responsive lips. She pressed their foreheads together afterward and smiled. “Thank you…” she whispered, hoping the word intoned her genuine gratitude for the gesture.

“What a small world we live in…” Jemma mused. She closed the gap between them and brought their mouths together again, this time into a kiss that burned and kindled into steaming pyre of fiery electricity, jolting between them. “I would really,” Jemma murmured between kisses as she snaked her arms around Skye’s shoulders. “Like to,” she struggled to keep talking between kisses instead of just losing herself completely in the pull of Skye’s lips and tongue. “Take you home tonight…” She broke the kiss and finished the sentence, pressing her foreheads together with a mischievous little grin. “Provided you don’t think that’s too forward of a suggestion….” She played it up and gave Skye a cute little wink.

“Lead the way, Jems,” Skye replied in a breathless singsong lilt. Just like that, Jemma had another nickname from the beautiful woman in front of her. A broad smile broke across Jemma’s face. She stole a few more kisses and then grabbed Skye’s hand to tug her along the last few blocks to the house.

\--

 

Because they kept stumbling into each other’s sides and couldn’t seem to stop stealing kisses along their way, it took longer than normal to walk those last few blocks to the front door of the house. Jemma reluctantly broke off from Skye’s latest kiss to turn and jog up the four steps of the front stoop as she dug her keys from the pocket of her jeans. Just before she found the right key, she felt the warm gust of Skye’s breath against the back of her neck. She was just moving to jam the key into the lock to get them inside already when Skye’s hands curved around her hips and pulled her back flush against her by them at the same time that her lips found their way to the hard bump of the back of her jaw just behind her ear. A shiver of pleasure trembled through Jemma as the edge of Skye’s teeth dragged over the sensitive patch of flesh, quickly followed by the soft pressure of her lips. Jemma’s eyes fluttered closed as she unconsciously leaned back to press into Skye, a staggered exhale escaping her as she angled her head, silently pleading for more of anything Skye was willing to offer her right then and there.

 

While her mouth worked along the length of Jemma’s exposed neck, Skye’s right hand slipped below her hoodie and t-shirt and ghosted along the smooth expanse of skin just over the low waistband of her jeans against her belly. Jemma exhaled a gasp as her grip on the keys in her hand release and the ring of keys clattered to the stoop below. Jemma felt Skye’s lips twist into a smile against her skin but was powerless to retaliate in the moment. Just as suddenly as her kisses and attention had appeared on Jemma’s skin, they disappeared and Jemma let out a pained whimper of protest as Skye leaned down to retrieve the fallen keys.

Jemma turned around just as Skye was standing back up, keys in hand and came face to face with the victorious, crooked grin on Skye’s lips. Immediately, Jemma had the urge to wipe that adorable little smirk off of Skye’s face. She wanted more and it showed in her blown pupils and the feverish way she hooked pulled Skye to her by the front of her shirt and brought her mouth up to meet Skye’s with crushing furor. Skye stumbled, pressing into Jemma as she surge forward to return the kiss eagerly. She leaned into Jemma, pressing her back into the door behind her, one of her legs placed between Jemma’s in an attempt to press as close to the other as possible. Skye reached for Jemma’s cheek with one hand and slid her thumb along the edge of Jemma’s jaw. Her other hand, with Jemma’s keyring hanging hooked from her forefinger, groped down Jemma’s side and pulled her hips crushing closer. Jemma gasped against her mouth at the sudden friction of Skye’s thigh against the heat pooling at her core. Jemma’s forehead leaned into Skye’s as she broke their kiss to suck in a shaky breath. Skye’s mouth twisted again into a lopsided grin and Jemma’s half-lidded eyes were glazed over with lust matched the desire reflecting back in Skye’s own eyes.

Neither of them spoke and an instant later, Jemma’s lips were on hers again. Skye grinned against the kiss and swiped her tongue along Jemma’s upper lip. Jemma’s hips rolled of their own accord to rock against Skye’s thigh. Her jaw slacked and she opened her mouth further at Skye’s tongued request. When it felt like her lungs were going to burst for the want of a gulp of air, Skye’s mouth broke away and pecked a feverish trail to her neck. She held up her hand, the keys hanging from the end of her forefinger and jingled them. Jemma eyed the keys when she heard them and reached to pull them from Skye’s finger just as Skye’s teeth scraped over her pulse point. If it hadn’t been for Skye’s arm around her waist and her thigh between her legs, Jemma’s knees would have buckled right out from under her. She was only vaguely aware of the guttural moan that escaped her throat as her legs wobbled like overcooked spaghetti noodles. Skye’s breath puffed out short, hot pants against her collar. “Gonna have to remember that one,” she breathlessly chuckled as Jemma’s arms slung around her shoulders as if to hold on for dear life.

Jemma blinked, dazed and distracted as Skye’s nose nuzzled along the underside edge of her jaw. The fingers of Jemma’s free hand curled reflexively into the hair at the nape back of Skye’s neck below her backward baseball hat’s brim. She brought the keys up and with only the fingers of the hand they were in, shuffled to the right house key just before she shifted her weight on her feet and turned them around, pressing herself as close to Skye as she could. Her heart raced an excited and erratic rhythm in of anticipation in her chest. She surge forward, eager to kiss Skye with reckless abandon as she jammed the key into the lock and twisted. Skye stumbled back, wrapping her arms around Jemma’s waist, when the solid door behind her suddenly gave way. They shuffled inside and Jemma broke their kiss to look back as she shut the door and flipped the deadlock.

She shuffled with Skye to the door next to the stair landing to unlock that as Skye’s fingers traced along the small of her back, pulling her closer with her other hand by the curve of her ass. Skye let Jemma push her over the threshold, blindly backing into the apartment in the dark. Jemma turned her head as she shut and locked this door as well and in the next moment, the two were sprawled on the floor, Skye on her back under Jemma, both of them snickering in the darkness.

“Oh my God, what is that?!” Skye was suddenly squirming under her trying to retreat. Jemma struggled to untangle their legs and only managed to sit up, straddling Skye’s hips so she could grope around for the lamp on the nearby end table. Skye let out a yelp and squirmed again. Jemma blinked and squinted, letting her eyes adjust to the light. She looked at Skye, who had her eyes scrunched shut tight in fear as she tried to evade her attacker – Jemma’s calico six month old kitten – was nuzzling at Skye’s ear and the back of her jaw. She stopped when the light turned on, frozen against the back of Skye’s jaw. “Is it a caterpillar? Tell me it’s a random ass caterpillar and not a giant hairy spider…” Skye’s eyes were squeezed shut in anticipation of the worst in reply.

“Lynx! Stop that, you silly-,” Jemma was just about to reach to grab for the cat when Skye’s eyes popped open and she threw a hand over her mouth and nose and sneezed. Jemma blinked and then tilted her head curiously at Skye, filing away that Skye might be allergic to cats in the back of her mind for reference.

“Is it a cat?” Skye asked. She turned her head just enough to finally hazard taking a peak at her ‘attacker,’ only to find a rather tiny kitten, sitting next to her head. The kitten mewed at her in greeting and Jemma snickered both at Lynx’s excellent timing and Skye’s sigh of relief. A sweet smile turned up Skye’s lips and she let out a mimicked; “Meow,” back at the kitten. Lynx tilted her head and then immediately leaned forward, sniffed Skye’s cheek and flopped a paw down on the side of her nose to hold her still so she could lick her face. Skye snickered and scrunched her nose, trying to fight off another sneeze. “I think she likes me,” Skye announced.

“She has good taste, that one,” Jemma smiled down at Skye from her position straddled across her. “Are you allergic?” she asked as she leaned over so she could try and entice the cat away from her current task.

“Just a little,” Skye nodded. When Jemma leaned over to get the catch’s attention, Skye let her eyes roam over Jemma’s face with an affectionate little smile on her lips. She lifted her head from the floor and began to pepper soft little kisses first to her cheek then to the little crook next to her nose, the edge of her jaw, the corner of her mouth.

A bright smile light up Jemma’s face. She turned her head to catch Skye’s lips on her next attempt to land a kiss, leaning her weight down on her hands on the hardwood floor above Skye’s shoulders. These few kisses were calm and gentle, less rushed than the ones against the front door but no less intoxicating as far as Jemma was concerned. Jemma pulled from the kiss and Skye nuzzled the ends of their noses together before Jemma could get too far away. “I like your apartment,” Skye announced with a mischievous little grin on her face.

Jemma chuckled. “Hmm…and you haven’t even seen the bedroom yet…” she wiggled her eyebrows up and down a couple of times as Skye snickered.

“I’d love a guide tour…” Skye murmured as she leaned up to indulge in another taste of Jemma’s neck and collar.

Jemma closed her eyes briefly and let out a hum of approval. “This can be arranged for a price of the tour guide’s choosing…” She said fixing her impish grinning gaze down at Skye.

“Sold!” Skye cheered. It took some willpower to climb off of Skye but when Jemma did, she held her hands out to help the other woman up off the floor and Skye used her hands to pull her in close for another kiss, once against wrapping her arms around Jemma’s waist.

Jemma led the way, half-blind and bumping into walls here and there in the hallway as they went. She had extraordinarily bad kissers and what she had thought where amazingly great kissers in the past but none of them had left her feeling like it was entirely possible she might actually combust from the sparks of burning electricity that buzzed through her, overwhelming her senses in the wake of each searing kiss and touch Skye delivered. The heat filled her through and pooled as a well of tension in her gut as layers of clothing went sailing in the wake of their trek from the living room past the kitchen and bathroom and to the bedroom at the end of the short hall. Their hats were the first to go, followed by Skye’s sweat jacket from Jemma’s shoulders. Skye broke away just briefly enough to tug her baseball t-shirt off by in one quick whipping tug from the bottom hem up. She let it fall before her hands and lips were on Jemma again through the threshold of the room.

Shoes and socks were hastily kicked out of as they stumbled, moans occasionally interrupted by soft chuckles or breathless praises. Skye’s fingers tugged at the hem of Jemma’s shirt and against they broke long enough to grab a gulp of air while Skye pulled the offending garment free. As soon as it was gone they were pressed together again and tumbling onto the bed, rolling about as one mass of writhing fervor. On their sides on the bed, Skye fought to focus, forcing her hands to come to rest on the button and zipper of her jeans even though Jemma’s leg was currently hooked over her hip, drawing Skye in as close as the muscles of her calf and thig could hold her. Jemma’s hands roamed freely over Skye’s torso, also distracting, and worked to free Skye from her bra. Skye tugged her arms free and the material was pulled away, exposing her chest to the cool air in the very small space between them only momentarily. Skye’s fingers went back to their task. She popped the button of Jemma’s jeans and had just pulled the zipper down when Jemma’s mouth broke from her neck and immediately closer around Skye’s left breast.

Skye’s brain stalled out as she gasped. A hand wound into Jemma’s hair, fingers curling, nails scraping against Jemma’s scalp and sending pleasant shivers rolling down her spine. Skye moaned Jemma’s name into the dim light of the room as her body arched toward Jemma’s touches. When she could regain enough of her own sense, Skye’s fingers raced from the flat of her stomach below her belly button down past the waistbands of her jeans and underwear, into the soft curls of hair below, over slick folds and curving to cup around her sex, pressing against the sensitive flesh with experienced pressure. Jemma was the one to gasp this time. Skye felt the vibrations of a hum of approval that raced from Jemma’s throat as her hips snapped toward Skye and ground her in time against Skye’s palm.

They struggled; alternating between tearing at each other’s remaining offending clothing to pull it free and pawing at each other, groping new smooth, heated fleshy terrain for the first time, learning which areas cause more intense reactions. When the final layers of clothing were pulled free and tossed away, Skye wound up atop Jemma this time, her knees straddling Jemma’s hips, her braid hanging down over her left shoulder and the wisps that Skye had pulled out of it to frame her face hung down tickling Jemma’s cheeks, their chests pressed together with each heaving inhale and exhale their gulped in.

Skye’s eyes seemed to be asking the question, waiting for the go-ahead to make sure this was what Jemma really wanted to do. Her fingers gently traced Jemma’s forehead, temple and curved around her ear as she tucked a few loose strands of hair off her slightly sweat beaded forehead. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this,” she whispered, her lips just barely grazing against Jemma’s as she spoke. “But you are extremely beautiful,” she said. Jemma felt the heat in her cheeks as she bashfully averted her eyes. Skye shifted and moved, following her gaze to keep her from looking away. She opened her mouth, preparing to insist that she wasn’t only to be cut off by Skye, who dipped her head to capture her lips in a searing kiss.

“Nonsense,” She whispered against Jemma’s lips only half-breaking the kiss. “It’s true,” She murmured as if rebutting the protest Jemma would have released if Skye hadn’t cut her off with the kiss. Her fingers traced down Jemma’s side, around the curve of her breast and along her ribs before sliding back up. She dipped her head and peppered frustratingly soft kisses against Jemma’s collarbone as Jemma squirmed beneath her. Jemma felt the impatience of the tension already built and wound within her. She lifted her head from the pillow and brought their mouths crashing together, letting their tongues dance together. Her hands drew down Skye’s back, from her shoulders blades along the arching curve of the small of her back and over the firm muscle of her ass, pulling her hips down as Jemma rocked her own upward to press them close together. When she though Skye was sufficiently distracted, her hands traced up Skye’s sides and arms to her wrists and, quicker than Skye could react, threw her weight and rolled them over, pinning Skye back to the bed, she straddle one of Skye’s thighs and pinned Skye’s arms loosely to the pillow above her head.

“Cheater,” Skye murmured with a mirthful smirk on her lips. She didn’t mind being flipped into this position at all.

Jemma tilted her head. “I believe you previously agreed to the terms of service for this guided tour arrangement,” she arched her eyebrows and then nodded over her shoulder. “This is my bedroom. Welcome. This concludes your guided tour,” She offered Skye an impish smile. “The price was set at the tour guide’s choosing…”

“Hmm,” Skye hummed, grinning up at Jemma, desire welled deeply within her wide pupils. “And just what does the tour guide want from me?”

Jemma leaned close and Skye lifted her head with the intention of meeting her in a kiss but Jemma stopped just shy of Skye’s current reach, eyes locked on Skye’s. Skye’s eyes shifted from Jemma’s eyes to her mouth and she licked her lips in anticipation. “Everything you’ve got…” she whispered, her lips ghosting against Skye’s just barely enough to frustrate her for the fact that she couldn’t quite reach her to kiss her.

“Sold,” Skye grinned and Jemma’s lips were finally on hers again. Once again they were rolling about in the bed, grinding, bucking, teasing, gasping and groping against each other. Building their way to climax, they worked each other over to draw out the waves of pleasure when one of them hit the peak and went cascading over into bliss. They dutifully mapped each other’s bodies out in detail as sexual cartographers, exploring the details of every hill, valley and crevice, every constellation of speckled moles against paler flesh, every curious scar, until they both collapsed into the bed, breathless and spent.

Still trembling from the last crescendo, Jemma curled into the embrace Skye pulled her into, settling them face to face, noses just barely touching as they shared a pillow. Skye’s fingers gently traced bits of her face, ran down her arm, around her back, against her side, pressing gentle touches in the wakes of Jemma’s last trembles as they caught their breath. Each of them traded off small ghost light pecks, to the nose, the forehead, cheek, temple, eyelid, into the other’s hair, along a shoulder, the jaw, the chin. Both were sleepy, worn to sated exhaustion. Jemma shifted, moving away only so she could wrestle the covers free from under them. When she reclaimed her spot, she twisted her legs together with Skye’s and pulled the covers over them.

“You’re an excellent tour guide,” Skye whispered, unable to keep the smile from her lips. Skye had not expected the night to end like this. She had known that Mack and Lance wanted her to join them to keep Fitz and Bobbi’s friend company. She hadn’t realized that she had been part of a conspiracy to set the two of them up and she hadn’t realized that she was going to take such an instant liking to the woman whose bed she was now lying in. Skye wasn’t above a one night stand, but it usually took a lot more alcohol and some not so great decisions on her part. This had been completely different. There was something more to this than Skye could really define at the moment. All she could really do was hope that Jemma might feel the same way about the day’s events.

Jemma was sure she wasn’t going to be able to stand in the morning. She could already feel the burn of lactic acid building in her muscles from the hour or so of activity. She was beginning to think her previous sexual partners, both male and female, had been wildly inexperienced, or perhaps she had been? Some of them, she had been lucky if they’d gotten around to finishing getting her off and never had any of them succeeded in doing do three times in a single night. She wasn’t sure she had ever brought anyone else to climax as many times in a single night either. She almost never took a person to bed only hours after meeting them that was for damn sure! Skye’s comment brought her back to the present. Her cheeks flushed pink and she dropped her eyes bashfully as she chuckled.

Leaning into Skye, Jemma kissed her a few quick times, settling a hand along Skye’s cheek. “In case you weren’t already aware,” she murmured against Skye’s lips, pressing their foreheads together gently. “You are gorgeous,” She used Skye’s early compliment from the stadium back on her with a sweet little smile. She paused just for half a moment and then tipped the corners of her lips upward. “…And you’re  _ really _ good with your tongue…”

Skye simultaneously flushed in her cheeks and the tops of her ears and dropped her eyes to snicker. Jemma peppered the top of her head, her forehead, temple and the side of her nose in quick kisses. Skye’s arm wound around her waist, the other tucked itself under the pillow, where Jemma already had a hand resting. When she felt Skye’s hand hover near hers, she blindly entwined their fingers together beneath the pillow and snuggled in closer to Skye, tucking her heat against Skye’s shoulder and collarbone, under her chin.

“So what did you think of your first live baseball game?” Skye whispered into the sleepy silence around them, combing her fingers through Jemma’s drying hair and along her back in gentle random patterns.

Jemma exhaled a startled snort of laughter at the question and turned her head to kiss Skye’s collarbone. “Turned out to be quite lovely in the end,” She answered and Skye felt her smile against her collarbone as Skye chuckled softly. Within minutes of snuggling tighter together again, both women were dozing, breathing evenly and relaxed in restful sleep.

**Scientific conclusion:** Jemma Simmons adored Baseball. 


	2. Irresistible Sex Goddess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forewarnings: so fluffeh you're gonna die, perhaps? 
> 
> In light of the fact that it seems like the only news in real life around the world as of late has been terribly upsetting, I thought I'd take a break from updating JFOD and WOES with their angsty/depressing tilts and throw some more of the Fluffinator your way. 
> 
> I know I still owe some of you replies to comments you left me! I've seen them and I will reply! I apologize for not doing so sooner, work, RL and massssssive heatwave to my area with absurd humidity has really done a number on me!  
> As always, forgive me for my typos/errors!  
> Also as always, thank you for reading, thanks for the kudos, comments and love! You guys are awesome and I <3 you. 
> 
> Enjoy! :o)

_In me the scientist always stuck on_

_Always trying this_

_I try to live on science alone_

_Analysis and freaky sensitivity_

_We gotta live on science alone_

_Yeah, uh, I am a scientist_

_Yeah, uh, I am a scientist_

_Yeah, uh, I am a scientist_

_We gotta live on science alone_

The grooving steady thump of a bass line woke Skye mere moments before the sun could angle itself through the windows and curtains at just the right angle to shoot stray beams of bright morning light at her face. _That…is not my ringtone_ , was the first thought that filtered through her groggy brain followed by, _helloooo warm body next to me_. Skye cracked her eyes open and came face to face with Jemma’s still slumbering face on the pillow next to hers. Parts of her concealer from the night before had worn off from her baseball hat, from their sweaty activities and from just the night of sleep in general, revealing a sea of light brown freckles scattered across her forehead and nose. She had crust in the corners of her eyes and there was a soft hum on the tail of each exhale that left her partially open mouth that wasn’t quite a snore so much as content, restful hums. Skye smiled at the sight and sounds as various memories from the night before flooded back into her mind. The arm she had tucked under and around Jemma was largely pins and needles but Skye didn’t dare move. She was torn between waking Jemma, brushing her wild bed head off her face or just letting her sleep.

About then, the lyrics to the ringtone going off restarted and Skye had to bite into her bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud as she realized not only that it must be Jemma’s phone but that it must have been an alarm. Next to her, Jemma shifted and Skye stilled to see if she would wake up or continue slumbering. With a deep inhale, Jemma shifted again, curling herself further into Skye. She looked so goddamned adorable, Skye didn’t want to wake her up and risk her leaving the warmth of the bed. Skye didn’t know if this alarm was for work or for a class though, so she combed her fingers through the loose strands of hair in Jemma’s face and tucked the light brown strands behind Jemma’s ear. With ghost light pressure she peppered Jemma’s face everywhere she could with quick, soft pecks and very lightly traced her fingers down Jemma’s side and along her back.

Slowly coming to, Skye took note of the changes in Jemma’s breathing as she inhaled a deep breath and exhaled a hum. Skye waited for Jemma’s brain to catch up. She continued her ghost light kisses to Jemma’s temple, the side of her nose, her cheek, her jaw. “Your alarm’s going off,” Skye whispered just before she kissed the corner of Jemma’s mouth gently. Her tone was a bit more nasally than it had been the day before, but she’d spent the night breathing in whatever cat hair was around the bed and room so that wasn’t all too surprising she supposed.

Jemma let out an unintelligible grumble and closed the eyes she had only just cracked open before she burrowed her face into the crook of Skye’s neck and collarbone and wrapped the arm she had draped over Skye’s middle tighter around her. Skye chuckled softly into Jemma’s hair at the side of her head, unable to help the fluttering in her belly as Jemma cuddled up closer to her. Skye struggled to recall ever feeling so instantly attracted to another person before last night. She was usually more cautious where her heart was concerned and she wasn’t exactly sure what had come over her in those first few moments after sitting down next to Jemma. “Are we skipping class or work with this alarm?” Skye asked before her lips were against Jemma’s earlobe. The tips of her fingers traced Jemma’s side, curving over the side of her bare breast and down along her rib cage.

Jemma sucked in a sharp breath and Skye felt the gooseflesh that formed in the wake of her touch when she traced her way back up Jemma’s side, over her shoulder and down her arm. A content hum escaped Jemma’s throat as Skye felt the warm pressure of lips against her collarbone and let her eyes flutter closed a moment. “Errant alarm,” Jemma murmured with a sigh as the alarm finally silenced itself on an automatic snooze. “Accidentally set it to repeat,” She yawned and tried to nuzzle closer again. She inhaled Skye’s scent from the crook of her neck and let her fingers glide along the edge of Skye’s hip without giving it much thought. Her head wasn’t pounding but it was definitely aching from so many hours out in the evening/night air drinking. Her muscles felt stiff and rubbery still but in all the best ways. By the way Skye shifted, Jemma was sure she understood that current ache perfectly.

“Does that mean I can take you to breakfast?” Skye blurted the question out in a murmur before she could give her brain time to think better for it. She felt Jemma stall momentarily against her and held her own breath in anticipation.

“That would be lovely,” Jemma said when she finally spoke again, leaning back to look at Skye now. She was glad she had moved to do so as the dazzling smile Skye flashed in response amid her own straying sloppy bed head and crusty eye corners was entirely worth it. “Gosh, you’re pretty…” Jemma blurted on an exhale. As soon as she realized she said it out loud, her cheeks turned deep shades of pink and she hid her face bashfully against Skye’s shoulder.

Skye chuckled again. “You’re one to talk,” she teased, rolling a little more onto her side. Her eyes followed her fingers as they traced a small constellation of moles along Jemma’s side before she leaned over and kissed a few spots along the outside of Jemma’s shoulder. She felt Jemma’s fingers trace up her arm and curl into her hair and the thought rolled through her mind that she could definitely get used to this kind of morning. She pressed her lips to Jemma’s shoulder again to avoid blurting that thought out.

Jemma shifted her weight, turning on her side and twisting her legs to tangle them more together with Skye’s. Skye felt Jemma’s warm breath against her earlobe as she quietly said, “I would really like to get to know you,” before kissing the edge of her earlobe.

“W-what do you want to know?” Skye asked, foggy brained in the morning grogginess swirling together with the delightful shivers trickling down her spine and radiating through her senses.

Jemma chuckled this time but smiled. She moved so she and Skye were lying face to face on one of the pillows on the bed. Her fingers roamed free over the contours of Skye’s face and she took note of any touch that made Skye’s breath hitch slightly in her throat, storing it away for (hopefully) future reference. “Everything, eventually,” Jemma answered tentatively. Skye hadn’t left in the night and she, obviously, hadn’t tried to make a daring morning escape while Jemma was still asleep so it stood to reason that she was very much into the idea of exploring the possibilities between them, right?

“In return,” Skye grinned, “I would…really like to get to know you,” She confessed.

Jemma exhaled the breath she hadn’t realized she had held and with it came a nervous chuckle. “Excellent,” she beamed. “For now, let’s start with…” Jemma’s fingers combed through Skye’s hair and Skye was sure she could have died happy in that moment. Jemma narrowed her eyes, squinting in thought as if she were preparing for some world-shattering important question and then, “What’s your favorite color?” She arched her eyebrows.

Startled since she was expecting some kind of serious question, Skye exhaled a startled puff of air that morphed into a nervous chuckle. Jemma grinned. She knew exactly what she had done and she was pleased with herself for getting cute little laugh out of Skye.

“Cerulean,” Skye answered.

Jemma’s eyebrows hiked up. “That’s very specific,” She noted with a crooked smile. She liked that Skye’s answer wasn’t a simple, all encompassing ‘blue.’ It meant she’d thought about such things before and it meant that there was a reason for it. “What’s so special about cerulean?” She asked.

“It’s the color of the sky when the sun’s just starting to make its presence known when the particular part of the world you’re in is just starting to wake up,” Skye offered up a shy smile as her eyes searched over Jemma’s face, studying every millimeter.

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this,” Jemma watched her face as they spoke and stroked her fingers through Skye’s hair, careful not to snag any sleep knots. “I like the attention to detail,” She smiled. “Mine is yellow. Specifically daisy yellow.”

Skye arched her eyebrows. “Like the flower?” She asked and Jemma nodded. Skye smiled. “Why?” She asked curiously as she reached out to trace Jemma’s face, drawing her finger over her temple, around the orbit of her eye, over the mound of her cheekbone and along the underside of her jawline.

“Because it’s warm and vibrant,” Jemma answered as a shiver of pleasure shot through her. She edged closer to Skye. “Welcoming. It’s like...home,” She explained.

Skye couldn’t stop herself from smiling. This was beginning to be a habit with Jemma. She liked it. She liked it a lot. She nodded as she listened, already filing factoids away in her mental rolodex. “Where did the name ‘Lynx’ come from?” She asked Jemma since it was, by rights, her turn to ask a question.

Jemma snickered. She was enjoying this game. More than that, she was enjoying the way Skye’s fingers traced her side and drew random patterns on the point of her hip bone. “She’s named after a constellation,” Her cheeks flushed very slightly but Sky noticed it in the warming sunlight of the early morning. “It was one of the first ones I identified by myself without my dad’s help as a kid,” She explained. “Seeing as she’s a cat and a Lynx is a type of wildcat,” She shrugged up her shoulder. “It just seemed like it fit her. She’s grown into it from the scrawny little stray she was when I found her on our doorstep one morning a few months ago, trying to hide from a loud scary thunderstorm,” She recounted. “Now she likes to laze about and scare strangers into hoping she’s a caterpillar and not a big scary spider,” she teased.

Skye’s cheeks flushed pink. “It was dark!” She insisted. “It could have been _anything_!” She chuckled.

Jemma leaned over and kissed the corner of her mouth. Skye hated that they would need to leave the bed to brush their teeth but she didn’t want to gross them both out with a morning breath kiss after a night of beer, hot dogs and peanuts. _Ah, fuck it, I’m too impatient,_ she thought to herself just before she turned her head to capture Jemma’s lips with her own. Jemma had been fighting similar urges and she was eager to reciprocate.

_In me the scientist always stuck on_

_Always trying this_

_I try to live on science alone_

Jemma’s alarm broke them apart, each of them snickering into the others shoulder at the song. “I like your music selection,” Skye announced. Her lips were against Jemma’s collarbone in the next moment and Jemma’s train of thought left her completely for a few seconds.

“One must always try to be accurate where these things are, um...are concerned…” she murmured, her brain only partially on the words coming from her mouth since she was more focused on Skye’s mouth just as teeth scraped against her racing pulse point.

Skye smiled against the warmth of her skin. “Mmhm,” she hummed as Jemma’s fingers curled through her hair and against the back of her neck and scalp. Skye shifted her weight. She dragged her fingertips over Jemma’s hip and Jemma let out a disapproving murmur when Skye pulled her hand away. A moment later she inhaled a gasp and dug her fingers as she curled them against Skye’s scalp when Skye stroked her finger up the inside of her thigh with a ghost light touch. Skye grinned against Jemma’s collarbone and was just kissing along the divot in where her collarbones met in the middle when Jemma’s stomach grumbled loudly. Skye dropped her forehead against Jemma’s collarbone and snicker. When she looked up Jemma was blushing lightly. Skye grinned at her. “Can I take you out for breakfast?” She asked, leaning up on her elbow to kiss the edge of Jemma’s jaw.

“Mmm, yes,” Jemma hummed and nodded. “Just as soon as I take you to the shower with me,” She bounced her eyebrows a few quick times and quickly kissed Skye before she was suddenly breaking free from Skye’s grasp and climbing out of bed. Skye was about to protest until Jemma held her hands out to her. Skye let her eyes study the length of Jemma as she grabbed the woman’s hand and climbed from the bed, eager to follow her wherever she was led.

“Guide tour, round two,” Jemma stopped once they were in the bathroom. She let go of Skye’s hand and held her hands out at her sides as she was a model on the price is right showcasing one of the prizes. “This is the loo,” She waved her hands to showcase the room, though Skye’s eyes were clearly on her and not the small bathroom. “Welcome. This concludes your guided tour,” She gave Skye a playful grin. She tilted her head, narrowed her eyes in thought and added, “I do believe the price was previously set at the tour guide’s choosing…”

“Hm,” Skye chuckled softly at the callback quip from the night before and stepped closer to Jemma. Hooking her arm loosely around Jemma’s waist to pull her closer, she leaned close but didn’t quite lean in close enough to kiss the shorter woman. “And just what does this guide tour want from me?” She asked her own tone husky with an impish little lilt to it.

Jemma’s hands looped loosely around Skye’s shoulders. Her fingers combed through Skye’s hair and held at the back of her head. She leaned in close, her lips grazing the edge of Skye’s earlobe as she whispered a seductive, “Everything you’ve got…” as she had the night before just before she nibbled against her earlobe.

“Sold…” Skye exhaled as she closed her eyes.

\---

After their prolonged attempt at showering and changing (though Skye was merely changing into the clothes she’d worn the day before), Skye and Jemma said goodbye to Lynx (complete with Skye sneezing into her elbow a couple of times) and headed out of the house. As soon as Jemma locked the door and they made it to the sidewalk, Skye reached for her hand and entwined their fingers together.

Jemma grinned over at her. “Where do you want to go for breakfast?” She asked.

Skye shrugged. “Avery’s?” She suggested. Jemma chuckled and Skye pulled her closer by her hand. “Perhaps afterward I can give you a guided tour of my own,” She kissed the top of Jemma’s shoulder and gave her a devilish little grin.

Jemma couldn’t help but laugh a bubbly, happy sound that burst from her throat and into the air. Skye wasn’t sure something as simple as another person’s laugh had caused her heart to skip a few beats and flip around in her chest. “Sold!” Jemma parroted Skye’s own reply back to her and pulled her over to kiss her proper as they stopped at the corner and waited to cross. Was it possible to be so incredibly into this woman without having known her even for a full twenty-four hours? Jemma wondered as they strolled through the streets, walking closely together.

\---

Skye discovered a wealth of information about Jemma as they sat across from each other in a booth at the diner which was just off of South Street, a main thoroughfare in the heart of Philly with all manner of shops, music venues and bars. For instance, Jemma Simmons, it turned out, liked her pancakes to have blueberries in them and strawberries on top of them. She loathed whipped cream on them but ones they were cut up into bite sized pieces, she covered them until they were swimming in a thick soup of maple syrup. It was positively decadent to watch and Skye sat across from her with her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. With the way she had witnessed Jemma carry herself over the last eighteen to twenty hours, she had expected Jemma to order something more...dainty? That didn’t seem like the right term. She thought Jemma might be an egg-white omelet with veggies kind of girl. But this? This was entirely fascinating to watch.

“Have I spilled it on myself?” Jemma asked when she realized Skye was watching her so intently. She looked down at her own shirt and sweatshirt and was relieved to find that she had not spilled any syrup on herself at all.

“What? No,” Skye chuckled and shook her head, cheeks flushing slightly. “I, uh…” she cleared her throat. “I don’t think I pictured you as a pancake girl,” She smiled.

Skye wasn’t the only one learning things on this breakfast outing. In fact, Jemma learned that while Skye ordered a coffee and was quick to fill it with five packs of sugar and continued through the first few sips to add milk to it, she also preferred tomato juice with her breakfast order, which was an eastern omelet that had bacon, peppers and onions in it, with grits on the side and rye toast. It seemed to Jemma that Skye had portioned out her meal, having cut up only half her omelet. Her grits were set off to the side with one of her slices of toast. Though she wasn’t going to mention it at all after Skye’s reaction to the pie and coffee revelation last night, she was pretty sure Skye was plotting saving half her meal for later. Not, of course, that Jemma thought there was anything wrong with that. Skye did live in a van...in an alleyway and while Jemma wasn’t judging her for that either, she could see how that would make a person more conscientious about such things. And then here was Jemma, dousing her pancakes in syrup and devouring them alone with her very mature order of chocolate milk for a drink.

“Is...that a bad thing?” Jemma asked between bites.

Skye smiled and shook her head. “Not at all,” She said. “Pleasantly surprising in fact. I’m learning all kinds of things about you today.”

Jemma smiled a bit bashfully. “It’s your fault I’m a glutton this morning you know,” She lifted her eyes toward Skye as she poked at some more of her pancakes onto her fork.

Skye chuckled. “My fault?” She asked and Jemma nodded. “How is it my fault?”

Jemma paused and looked over at Skye as if she was mad for not knowing. “You’ve made me work up such an appetite, I’ve felt positively ravenous since we woke up,” She replied in an overly matter-of-fact tone.

Skye’s cheeks flushed just a bit but she tilted her head back and laughed. “Well, in that case, I must confess I’m maybe hoping to help you work off some of these calories as well…” She flashed Jemma a flirtatious smile over the table.

“Sold,” Jemma repeated Skye’s parroted reply again from last night and this morning with a sly smile of her own as they dug further into their meal.

\--

Jemma wasn’t entirely sure what she had been expecting of Skye’s van since she had only ever seen the outside of it and the beige curtains with olive colored circles on it that blocked the area behind the driver and passenger seats from view, but there was much more to it than the beat up exterior led one to believe. She had also learned that this was by design, as Skye kept the engine and interior well maintained but, for the most part, let the exterior show its battle scars.

“The more rundown she looks,” Skye had explained once she had opened the side door to let them in after they had left Avery’s through the backdoor to the alley, “The less likely someone is to bust into her since they’ll judge her by her exterior and think they’ll find little of value.”

The logic was sound enough. Jemma had never seen anything lying around in the front seat area whenever she had left coffee and pie on the van’s bonnet. Now she realized this was so no one would see something that they might want to pilfer. Out of the three of them in their house, Bobbi was the only one that had a car and she kept the entirety of it meticulous. Fitz had been scolded many times for almost leaving drinks behind in cup holders. No wires connecting phones or mp3 players were ever left plugged in or out and lying around. She had a small round trash can that sat on the floor between the two back seats and every time anything was in it she pulled the plastic trash bag from it on her way out to dispose of every single time. Even her center console and glove box were perfectly arranged so that she could open them blindly while keeping her eyes on the road and still be able to reach for whatever she needed. Jemma imagined she would have had similar discipline and structure had she owned a vehicle of her own outside of her bicycle. Jemma was a creature of habit, structure and order, so she could appreciate how others kept house. Skye’s van was clean but there was a certain amount of disarray to it that seemed somehow, to Jemma at least, to serve to make the interior feel homier.

Around the roof there was a ledge that held mesh roping to store and hold items so they would be secure when in transit. There was plywood walling behind the passenger seat. Halfway up the wall, attached to it was a perpendicular desk area with a small safe lockbox below it. A round cushioned ottoman, not doubt repurposed from a second hand shop or from someone’s toss away, sat as a makeshift desk chair in front of the space, tucked halfway under it against the lockbox. The paneling against the back of the passenger seat above the desk area had a dry erase board mounted to one side and a cork board mounted to the other. Jemma’s eyes landed on the corner of a syllabus peeking out behind a few pinned papers but she didn’t get a chance to let her eyes linger long enough to see what kind of schooling Skye might be involved in. There were neatly scribbled little notes on the dry erase board, most of which were in a shorthand that Jemma didn’t recognize. She smiled when she saw the note about the Phillies game from the day before, circled with a time next to it and spotted the note above it that was written in the shorthand listing whatever appointment had caused her to run late getting to the game. She spotted wiring along the side of the desk and wondered where the power came from for them. Later she would learn that Skye had attached solar panels onto her roof to charge a small portable generator so she could keep her phone and computer charged without pulling from the van’s battery and draining it.

Around the bottom of the shelving track Skye had run LED rope lights that, when turned on, cast a soft white glow to the dark interior and brightened it greatly without giving off harsh light to sting the eyes. Those ran off of the little generator as well. On the other side of the van, situated behind the driver’s seat was another plywood paneling. Instead of a desk, this side held a small cupboard on the back of the paneling and, at about the same height as the desk, was a very tiny oval sink. She could see the spout area where one could refill the tank system that must have been in the cupboard below the little sink. There was a cupboard attached to the side wall of the van next to the sink as well. The floor of the van was carpeted in a patchwork of plush carpeting, aside from a small rectangle of space to the left of the sliding door opening that had high-lipped rubber floor matting to it, where their shoes currently resided. The back doors of the van were blocked by a shower curtain with an underwater theme on it that hung from a rod that had been welded on either side so that, if needed, the back doors could still be opened and the area accessed.

The bed, though, Jemma thought was rather ingenious. It was comprised of two stacked extra plush futon mattresses with a large sheet wrapped around the two and pinned to keep them together. When it wasn’t in use as a bed, as it currently was with Skye and Jemma curled together in it, lying lengthwise along the floor of the van, it was propped up to make a small couch with the back van doors as a sturdy backing support. Along the sidewalls hung more curtains and the one that was along the side without the sliding door had a white curtain that had printed photos pinned to it. Jemma tried not to stare at those but they were kind of adorable, just photos of Skye with friends. From what she had spotted while studying her surroundings from her spot tucked against Skye’s side, however, she didn’t see any faces that looked like they might be related to Skye. Though her curiosity was vast, Jemma didn’t ask about it. They certainly hadn’t known each other long enough for such intimate inquiries.

“What’re you thinking?” Skye’s voice cut into Jemma’s thoughts. Jemma was acutely aware of Skye’s fingertips as they traced blind patterns along the small of her back beneath the hem of her shirt. After Skye had unlocked the door to let them both inside, they had tugged off their sneakers and set them in their holding bin and had climbed the rest of the way inside. Jemma had looked around while Skye had turned the futon mattress couch into a bed and they had tumbled into it a little haphazardly for a lengthy post breakfast make out session. Tucked comfortably against each other’s’ sides, Jemma was enjoying taking everything in her surroundings – the interior of the van, the way the sheets smelled faintly of the honeysuckle scent of Skye’s shampoo from the day before, the way that Skye actually currently smelled like Jemma’s shampoo and soap from their shower this morning, the soft glow from the LED rope lights, the light breeze that filtered through and rustled some of the curtains as it came through the windows that Skye had opened for them.

“Your home is quite lovely,” Jemma murmured with a smile, “It’s an accurate reflection of you,” She listened with her ear pressed to Skye’s chest as the other woman’s heart tumbled about erratically beneath her ribcage and wondered if her own heart was bumbling about like that. With reluctance, she picked her head up enough to look at Skye’s face and found Skye’s cheeks were flushed and a bashful smile was plastered over her lips. “I’m only sorry I left your pie and coffee treats outside rather than knocking to say hello and deliver them directly,” She added with a warm smile of her own.

“I’m only sorry I don’t have as many rooms as you to give guided tours…” Skye murmured with a crooked grin to deflect from her bashfulness. Jemma dropped her face forward against Skye’s collarbone and laughed and Skye was sure she had fallen completely, hook, line and sinker for the diner waitress/scientist with the melodic accent. She couldn’t help marveling at how strongly she felt pulled toward Jemma in something under a single full day – wasn’t that the kind of thing that only happened in the land of movies and fairytales?? Surely it wasn’t _actually_ possible in real life, right? She wondered for a brief moment if she should fight such a sudden, intense emotion – nothing good could come of such a quick heat up, could it? Jemma kissed the end of her chin and Skye’s pensive thoughts dissolved in the instant those lips pressed against her skin.

“Between the two of us, I’m certain we can come up with an arrangement that best suits our exploratory needs,” Jemma flashed Skye a devilish little grin.

A wide smile spread across Skye’s lips as she tangled her fingers through Jemma’s hair. “If you’re not careful,” She warned ominously despite the grin on her face. “I might get used to you…”

“That’s the plan,” Jemma just managed to get the words out before Skye’s lips were on hers and Skye rolled them over on the mattress

\--

“Where do you shower, normally?” Jemma asked. It was mid-afternoon and they were still lying on Skye’s bed, pressed together with nothing to cover them but a thin blanket. Their legs seemed to tangle together of their own accord, leaving them tucked around each other in what Jemma would have only been able verbalize as ‘a perfect fit,’ if she had been forced to attempt to verbalize it. Fingers grazed over bare flesh with gentle touch, lips pressed against jutting angles and curves of skin with the barest of pressure while they spoke in whispers and murmurs.

Skye chuckled. “It depends. Mack lets me use his sometimes. Sometimes I go to the Y,” she shrugged a shoulder up slightly and Jemma gave in to the urge to tilt her head forward and kiss the jutting edge of it after it rose.

“And you’re studying somewhere nearby?” Jemma’s lips managed to skim just so over Skye’s shoulder as she asked the question. Skye’s eyebrows arched up her forehead; she couldn’t recall mentioning that she was in school during any of their conversations thus far. Jemma aimed a thumb toward her desk and Skye lifted her head to look in that direction. “There’s at least one syllabus on your corkboard,” she explained.

Skye stopped squinting at the desk and dropped her head back, snickering as she leaned into Jemma’s collarbone. “Holy shit, you’re observant,” she mused just before her lips descended on Jemma’s collar and crook of her neck, eliciting a soft hum of approval that made Skye file the exact location away for more intense attention later on.

“I am a scientist,” Jemma murmured, which made Skye snicker against her neck as it reminded her of Jemma’s alarm ringtone from earlier. “Sorry,” Jemma said in a distracted tone as Skye’s fingers traced down her arm and curled around her hand. “Too nosy?”

“Nah,” Skye murmured as she nuzzled her nose along the underside of Jemma’s jaw and left a kiss in the wake of the electric tingles the intimate gesture caused. Jemma was positive no one had ever given her the kind of butterflies in her stomach that Skye’s sweet attention continued produce. “Temple,” Skye answered her question. “Is where I’m studying,” She added after Jemma blurted a confused hum.

“Oh,” Jemma closed her eyes and tried to focus her thoughts, which was extremely difficult when Skye was randomly kissing and nuzzling her neck. She knew their intimacy was working through her in logical chemical processes that were causing her to feel the soaring high she was currently riding and the more scientific side of her brain wondered if this was the kind of intense chemical reaction that caused heroin users to become so easily trapped by the chemical spell so quickly. She had a fleeting thought that this line of thinking was terrible considering the multitude of wonderful feelings the last twenty-some odd hours had left her with, but that was how addiction worked, wasn’t it? Jemma was more than willing to feed the need if this was the way it was going to make her feel – full of flutters that rustled through her belly and radiated outward in searing warmth that engulfed her from the ends of her toes to the tips of her fingers as she entwined them with Skye’s, which she brought to her lips to kiss the backs of just then. “What, um…” Jemma cleared her throat. “What are you studying?” She asked with genuine interest.

Skye grinned against the back curve of her jaw at Jemma’s distracted attempts to stay focused and the cute little kisses to her knuckles. “Working on my masters in Human-Computer Interaction with a minor additional focus on Software Theory,” She gave Jemma the official technical answer.

Jemma blinked and leaned back to look at Skye, once again unsure what she had been expecting of the other woman only to be surprised by her. “Have you been living in your-,”

“Her name’s Bessie,” Skye interrupted. Jemma blinked again. “The van,” Skye tried, and failed, to clarify as Jemma’s brow wrinkled slightly. “When I bought her she was a delivery truck for a small mom and pop ice cream place down in Mayfair. She was painted bright white with black blobby patches to look like a dairy cow,” Skye grinned. “Mack quote, ‘knew a guy,’ who turned out to be Hunter, that had a friend who worked in car detailing that agreed to sand her and paint her for me on the cheap. We covered up her splotches, but she’s still Bessie,” Skye smiled as she finished her explanation.

Jemma couldn’t help but giggle at the name and its explanation. As she leaned forward snickering, Skye’s lips found her forehead. Jemma cleared her throat and tried to bring their conversation back to her question. She couldn’t seem to stop grinning, though. Skye was entirely surprising and impossibly wonderful. The more self-conscious parts of her brain wondered how she could ever compare to a baseball-loving nomadic goddess studying intricate computer sciences from her mobile home. The thought was brushed aside in favor of finding out as much as possible about Skye. “Have you and Bessie been together for the entire duration of your secondary education?” she asked curiously.

Skye squinted and Jemma noticed she flinched a bit around her eyes. “Uhh…not, not exactly,” She said. Jemma’s gaze was drawn down to Skye’s mouth as she watched Skye’s tongue slip across her lips while she tried to arrange her thoughts into a more detailed reply to Jemma’s question. “We’ve been a team for abouuuttt...three and a half years?” She said.

“Before that?” Jemma asked before she could think better of it. She regretted it immediately as something seemed to dim in Skye’s eyes. It was just a flicker or two before she was back to her neutral facial expression but Jemma had seen it. She was about to apologize and insist that Skye didn’t have to answer but Skye spoke before she could.

“I lived in off campus housing,” Skye said. “There were about twelve of us living in a row home that was suited for six adult humans at most. I was paying rent but wasn’t on the lease. Had a bad breakup and got a collective boot – from both the ex and the quote-unquote ‘friends.’” She shrugged slightly. “At the time, I was pretty messed up about it. We’d been together for a few years and I wound up sleeping on Mack’s floor for a few months afterward but, looking back at it so far removed, it was probably the best thing that could’ve happened with the situation. It was pretty much a party house. People came and went at all hours of the day and night, half of them strangers or the other roommates’ one night stands. It was a mess. I guess that means I was a mess too at the time? I dunno. Things change. It was a good, if at the time painful, evolution,” Skye blushed when she realized she was rambling. She cleared her throat and murmured a bashful apology for her rambling.

Jemma smiled at the explosive amount of information Skye suddenly offered  up, touched that she was willing to share it with someone who was, technically, a near stranger. “And now here you are, with Bessie,” She offered up a warm smile as she traced the outline of Skye’s face and kissed the end of her nose.

“And you,” Skye blurted in a murmur as her eyes crossed while she watched Jemma kiss her nose.

“I may have a biased stake in the matter,” Jemma replied, “but I feel I can confidently say you’re much better off in this case,” She teased just before she leaned in to steal a few proper kisses.

“I have a sneaking suspicion you might be right about that,” Skye said after Jemma tucked her head into the crook of her neck. Skye didn’t think she was imaging the fact that they wound together into a cohesive fit. She didn’t want to move, but a thought struck her. “Am I keeping you from anything?” She asked.

“Hm?” Jemma asked. “How do you mean?”

“Well, I guess I’m not keeping you from work since Avery would probably have come banging on my door by now, but,” Skye shrugged gently. “I just mean from anything you had scheduled for today, I’m not keeping you from anything, am I?”

Jemma smiled and kissed Skye’s collarbone. “Just a load of laundry that’s a few days past due. I’ve already texted Bobbi to ask her to stop in an check on Lynx for me,” She assured. “Why? Are we keeping you from something on your schedule?” She shifted enough to cast a glance toward the dry erase board and then remembered a lot of it was in Skye’s personal shorthand.

“Nah,” Skye shook her head and combed her fingers through Jemma’s hair. When they had first started talking, Jemma had rambled for almost twenty-five straight minutes about her doctorate degrees - the one she had already finished and the one she was currently working on. Skye had listened intently without interrupting even though most of it had gone right over her head and instead discovered that Jemma was positively adorable when she got to rambling about science and her ongoing doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania. “Scheduled a day off since I wasn’t sure if the guys had anything planned for after the game,” She said. Instead she and Jemma had tumbled into bed together and now here they were. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Jemma replied easily enough, as if the question itself was silly, considering.

“Have you been through all of the museums in Philly since you’ve moved here?” Skye asked.

Jemma thought on it a moment. “If you mean the science ones, yes I do believe I have. I’ve not made it yet to all the others, except for the art museum - Bobbi made me race up the steps and do the pose, thing,” She lifted her hands partially up with balled fists to poorly imitate Sylvester Stallone’s Triumphant pose after the montage in Rocky.

Skye snickered as she tried to picture that scene playing out and filed a mental note to ask Bobbi if she had video of this endeavor. She chuckled softly and sighed. “How about the Mütter Museum?”

Jemma lifted her head slightly and looked at Skye with a furrowed brow. “The what?” She asked, though her tone made her accent sound more pronounced, which made Skye’s grin stretch farther across her face.

“I think it’s time for a field trip,” Skye’s eyes were alight with mischief and though Jemma had no idea what Skye was talking about and where she might take her, she was more than a little eager and willing to follow.

“How do you feel about walking?” Skye stole a kiss as they both began climbing back into their clothing layers.

“How far?” Jemma asked as she worked her way back into her under things, distracted by the vision of Skye’s body as she moved to, sadly, cover it up. There were moles and scars she wanted to ask about, but she realized suddenly that there would be time for that later and it made a crooked smile cross her face. _Yes,_ she thought to herself, _I’m already gone, head right over heels_. For once, the idea of being loopy in the brain and light in the heart over someone didn’t feel daunting at all. It felt thrilling and satiating at once - terrifying and exhilarating.

“Couple miles,” Skye replied. It’d be a cakewalk for her but she wasn’t sure how much walking Jemma did on a regular basis. Walking, instead of driving or catching a train or cab meant two things: it didn’t cost gas or fare and, more importantly, it meant she could walk hand in hand with Jemma or arm in arm, side by side, leaning close and talking all along the way to their destination. Skye was all for that, even if her delightfully achy muscles wanted to protest the idea.

“Easy,” Jemma confirmed with a nod. Skye grinned and pulled her over by the front of her newly worn shirt to kiss her, an act which almost prevented them from leaving the van altogether again.

\--

Soon enough Skye and Jemma had been dressed on their way again after shutting down and locking up Bessie. It was just over two miles from the alley to the museum on 22nd street but neither of them noticed the time or distance as they walked. Skye’s arm was looped around Jemma’s shoulders and Jemma’s was under hers and around Skye’s waist. They had easily fallen into step with each other and were on a steady rhythm, talking over more details of each other’s lives, though they kept the questions on light subject matters. They had been locked in conversation about the philosophical implications of the Mirror of Erised from _Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone_ (Jemma had been very quick to correct Skye from calling it the _Sorcerer’s Stone_ ), were it to exist in the real world instead of the wizarding world, when they arrived at the steps of the Mütter museum. Jemma argued that it would be detrimental to society to sit and pine after things in a mirror instead of actively seeking out the steps necessary to bring their desires to fruition while Skye argued that people already did such things on their computers and smartphones and the way things were going it was only a matter of time before something similar was created in a realistic virtual reality of some kind.

Jemma also discovered a little more of Skye’s background during this conversation, including the knowledge that Skye could relate to Harry’s want to sit with the reflection of his parents, theorizing that he had never seen them before in his life prior to the moment he looks into the mirror, since Skye herself had never met her own parents. Interestingly enough, Skye seemed to think that she wouldn’t have let herself become permanently attached to the mirror (or to future virtual reality machines) because, she said, her life was in the future, “And that’s looking like it’s shaping up to be rather brilliant as of late,” as she had put it when she had stopped outside the building and smiled at Jemma.

Jemma blushed and looked up at the red brick building with ornate masonry on its exterior, surrounded by wrought iron gating. “College of Physicians,” Jemma read, etched into the cement working and the plaque on the outer bricking. “No, I have not been here - what was it that you called it earlier?” She looked over at Skye.

“The Mütter Museum,” Skye grinned. “They consider him the founder - I’ll explain inside, c’mon,” She tugged Jemma along by her shoulders and quickly leaned over to kiss her temple before leading her up the small grouping of stone stairs. Reluctantly, she let go of Jemma’s shoulders so she could open the heavy wooden door, which she held for Jemma. Just inside they stopped at the small front desk by the entryway and Skye reached into her pocket to cover the admission fee, quelling Jemma’s protest to let her pay for herself with the insistence that it was only a few dollars with her student ID. They were given small plastic clips to pin to their collars by a woman Skye apparently knew on a first name basis, who, seeing the new face with Skye, advised them that photography wasn’t allowed inside.

Skye thanked her before she could properly explain the reasoning, nodded and slipped her hand into Jemma’s, turning to her and tugging her along. Jemma’s brow furrowed slightly. “What exactly is this place?” Her nose twitched a bit as there was something familiar about the dull scent that seemed to cling to the air, a mixture of musty old furnishings and - Jemma gasped as Skye led her passed a large stairwell through an entryway and into a two story wonderland of...old science specimens? Jemma blinked. She recognized the smell now. It was a chemical mixture she knew well, though it had certainly from the looks of it had time to set and ‘decay,’ so to speak.

Skye grinned at Jemma’s stunned reaction. This was certainly not the kind of place to take someone on a first (or did this count as a second??) date. “Doctor Mütter was part of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in the early to mid-1800s,” Skye said as she waited just off to the side of the entryway so as to be out of the way of anyone wanting to pass by while she explained and Jemma looked around at what could be seen of specimens and oddities from there. The wall across the entryway they walked in was nothing but skulls and Jemma itched to race around the bordering lofted area so she could discover what secrets each of them contained. “He donated all of his collected medical oddities and specimens, models and old medical equipment to them for education and biomedical research,” Skye said. “I know you’re ogling the creepy wall of skulls right now,” she added, leaning closer to drop her voice lower, “but downstairs, there’s a preserved human colon that’s the size of an Ouroboros…” she whispered as if she hadn’t just said one of the grossest possible sentences ever.

Jemma blinked eyes still wide with wonder at her surroundings and turned to look toward Skye when she dropped that little ancient Greek symbol knowledge on her. “...You’re full of surprises, you know that?” She asked, unable to help the somewhat punch-drunk, starry-eyed gaze she cast at the taller woman.

Skye beamed a big grin at her. “Considering your science background and all that bio-chemistry...stuff you were talking about, it just seemed wrong that you didn’t know this place existed,” She confessed. From the way Jemma had rambled about her science earlier, Skye had been sure this was exactly the kind of place to take Jemma. She wasn’t one dimensional enough to think this was the _only_ kind of place to take Jemma, but seeing as they were still getting acquainted with one another, she thought this was right up Jemma’s alley.

“How did you even find out about this place?” Jemma asked her.

“I stumbled on it once after I spotted an article about them finding a box of slides that contained slices of Einstein’s brain preserved on microscope slides in them,” Skye answered. “It sounded way too freaky upon further research to be able to pass up a visit,” She smiled warmly. “It’s become my favorite museum in the city...Edgar Allen Poe’s house is a close second.”

Jemma blinked and snapped her head to look over at Skye and away from one of the cases she had been leaning over. “He was from Philadelphia??” She asked.

Skye snickered and then sighed. “No,” she shook her head, “He did live here for a while though and so they turned his house into a little museum of sorts...and I clearly have so much to teach you about this city,” She teased.

“Clearly,” Jemma agreed.

“C’mon, let’s start with the wall o’ skulls - you look like a kid about to race downstairs on Christmas morning to dive into a pile of presents under the tree,” Skye teased. She gave Jemma’s hand a squeeze and tugged her along again to walk around the square walkway that ringed the second floor and on one side led to wide stairs that would let them to the exhibits below. They walked around to the other side to view the wall of the Hyrtl Skull Collection. It contained well over one hundred skulls, each one mounted with notes scrawled on them about where they came from and how the person died (if known), their gender and approximate ages upon death. There were small placards as well that described any effect a wound or disease had caused on the skull. Jemma was just like a giddy toddler on Christmas as she moved about studying over every single one and animatedly telling Skye about different technicalities and factoids of each one despite knowing that Skye had seen these skulls multiple times.

Skye thought Jemma was quite possibly the most adorable human being she had ever met and she was starting to wonder how it was possible for one person to be so adorable, so smart that they had to be considered to be on the ‘genius’ spectrum and yet could still turn Skye’s legs into wobbly jelly with a well-directed flick of the tongue and curl of the fingers. She beamed an attentive and enthusiastic grin at Jemma as she listened to everything the excited woman said, replying every so often, asking questions or pointing out other skulls just to see what Jemma would say about them. The skulls were there to showcase cranial anatomy and all of its vast variations. While they moved around the museum, taking their time and really going over everything and anything from there was to see, Jemma pulled Skye along (willingly!) as she discovered every inch, nook and cranny of the small museum.

After Hyrtl’s Skulls, they made their way around the lofted perimeter reading the small showcases for the _Grimms’ Anatomy: Magic and Medicine_ exhibit, which showcased medical oddities that lined up with something remotely similar to something showcased in a Grimms’ Fairytale. For example, they had the mummified foot of a Chinese woman who had taken part in foot binding to keep her feet tiny and dainty (and probably excruciatingly painful) with a blurb next to it about how in the real Cinderella tale, one of the step sisters cuts off one of her toes to make her foot falsely fit into the slipper to try and trick the prince into believing she was the real Cinderella. After that, they ventured to the wall that had an exhibit on tattoos which had various sized squares filled with what Skye assumed was formaldehyde, of all different sized patches of skin that had been removed from, presumably, dead people. There were a few particularly creepy clown tattoos that always made Skye shudder. Near them on an adjoining wall was an entire wall full of preserved bits of skin with different maladies showcased on them.

They ventured downstairs next, to look at the giant colon Skye had been talking about. There was also a plaster cast bust of Chang and Eng, a pair of famous conjoined twins who were touring performers that were connected by a shared liver. Below the display of their joined bust cast was a display of their actual liver, the organ they both shared. There were walls nearby that had all manner of specimens in them – fetuses with birth defects, eyes/brains/spinal systems of animals from mice up to bears, drawers upon drawers full of pins and little odds and ends that children had swallowed and had had to have removed from their throats or stomachs, an entire set of displays of all the massive (and severely tiniest of tiny) bones that made up the inner ears of different species.

They checked out the exhibit with Einstein’s brain slides – something that existed because the coroner who performed his autopsy thought it would be a great loss to science not to study a genius like Einstein’s brain. Skye wasn’t sure exactly what part of the brain it was called but the coroner discovered that the pathways that carried the neural signals (or something of that nature? Skye was rough on the tidbit of information since it had been a while since she’d heard the story) through his brain resembled what would normally be found in the brain of a 20-something year old rather than what would be found in a typical 70-something year old’s brain. And that he had, according to people who had studied the pieces of dissected brain that the autopsy doctor had kept (and cared around the country in his trunk) for decades, that he had more of a certain kind of cell in his brain (Jemma had guessed and suggested that she was referring to glial cells, which she quickly explained to Skye were cells that surrounded neurons and were there to provide support and insulation between them and other neurons) than a normal person might have. Skye capped all of this off by explaining she had heard it while watching a documentary online after having seen the slides for the first time and so, she had laughed, she wasn’t sure if any of it was true or total bullshit.

Jemma was both fascinated by this story and amused at Skye’s attempts to tell it properly without knowing the scientific names and details for sure. She found it positively endearing that Skye was not only thoughtful enough to consider sharing this place with her, but was enthusiastically going about trying to make it the most entertaining and enjoyable as she thought possible. Skye’s efforts alone would have been enough to make Jemma enthusiastically fake it, provided she hadn’t been into the place. Thankfully, she had been having such a wonderful time that her cheeks were starting to hurt from all the smiling. It was all very fascinating and Jemma couldn’t believe her luck that Fitz would know someone who knew Skye and had caused the two to meet. It was hopeless, really, to think this was something Jemma would be able to fight against. She didn’t even want to fight against it. She wanted to dive in head first and let it be whatever it would be in the end.   

Skye’s rapid head first fall for the other woman grew steeper and steeper. She wanted to fight it, considering they barely knew one another, but she was starting to think that Jemma Simmons was possibly the partner she hadn’t known she’d been looking for to start with. They finished up their tour of the museum by heading back upstairs and through a special exhibit on the Civil War and the medical practices on the battlefield (amputation, bullet removal or lack thereof, medical prosthetics of the 18060s), then exited through the gift shop area. Skye took Jemma on a quick detour outside to a small garden area; it was the Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden. Skye delighted in listening to Jemma as she tugged Skye along, pointing out specific plants and talking all about them and what they could or would be used for in medical situations.

By the time Skye had squeezed Jemma’s hand and said, “I don’t know about you…but I’m famished,” it was just about five o’clock and the employee from the front desk came out to warn them that it was just about closing time.

Jemma beamed a grin at Skye. “I guess that’s our cue to go get dinner?” She arched her eyebrows and added, jokingly, “Provided you aren’t terrible sick of me by now?” It came out in a teasing tone but in the back of her mind she did worry that Skye might tire of her after all the time they were spending together since it was condensed into what amounted to a single day (although since there was a night between it, did it count as two days? Could Jemma utilize that technicality in her mind to justify...something about this?). They hadn’t been apart in the last…twenty-two hours and thirteen minutes…roughly, by Jemma’s calculations. Would this count as overkill?

“Tired of you? I was worried you’d get tired of me!” Skye teased back. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand and find us some grub!” She tugged Jemma over to her by her hand and let go so she could slip her arm back around Jemma’s shoulders.

“To the food!” Jemma cheered as she settled against Skye’s side and slipped her arm around Skye’s waist. Skye was acutely aware of the way Jemma’s fingertips found their way into the sweet spot of skin against her hip between the bottom hem of her shirt and top waistband of her jeans and pressed against its warmth. _Yes,_ she thought to herself, _I could very easily get used to you._ “This time, I’m paying!” Jemma added, interrupting Skye’s thoughts. Skye tried to protest while they strolled through the city once again, this time with Jemma leading them toward a favorite restaurant of hers. They jokingly squabbled about payment the whole way to the restaurant, which turned out to be the tiniest Italian restaurant Skye had ever seen. When they had first stopped in front of it, Skye had been sure they were about to walk into the foyer of someone’s house and not a restaurant. It only had six tables in the whole place. It was tiny, intimate and it smelled so delicious, Skye’s stomach rumbled in eager anticipation, causing Jemma to snicker and kiss her jaw before letting the server that approached them know that they were a party of two. She tugged Skye along by her hand behind the server who led the way to the table to seat them.

\--

“I can’t believe I haven’t asked this yet but,” Jemma said as they sat on a bench in a small neighborhood park next Jemma’s apartment after they had stopped for ice cream on the way home from the restaurant. She licked a melting trail of her strawberry ice cream (with rainbow sprinkles of course) from the edge of her cone before it dripped onto her hand or lap and then spoke again,  “When’s your birthday?”

Skye laughed. She licked some stray mint chocolate chip from the corner of her mouth. “July second,” she answered and Jemma gasped. Skye arched her eyebrows just before Jemma leaned in and pulled Skye in by the back of her head and neck with her free hand for a lengthy kiss that took Skye’s breathe away. “Wha…?” Skye was caught off guard and just a bit dazed by the sudden intense kiss.

“Happy belated birthday,” Jemma gave her a sly little grin. “I think the actual toll is one for each year – how many more do I owe you?” She lifted her cone up for another lick.

Skye blinked, distracted from the kiss and watching Jemma’s tongue swoop around the curve of her ice cream cone. She cleared her throat and shifted in her spot, which only served to bring her closer to Jemma. “Twenty-three,” She answered.

Jemma licked her lips and smiled now that she knew Skye’s age (24) and birthday (July 2nd). She filed that information away in the growing section of ‘Skye Info’ in her brain. She leaned over but instead of kissing Skye, she shifted and leaned over to lick the melted ice cream up off of the spot on Skye’s hand it had dripped onto without Skye’s notice. She sat up straighter and Skye wondered if she had noticed the shiver her action had caused to surge the length of Skye’s spine. She exhaled an exasperated, shaky sigh and Jemma beamed a bright innocent smile her way and tucked herself in closer to Skye’s side. “I look forward to delivering the rest of those when you least expect it…”

A lopsided grin twisted up Skye’s lips at the implications of Jemma’s statement as she brought her arm up from where it had been resting along the back of the bench to slide it around Jemma’s shoulders. “Can’t wait,” Skye took a moment to lick her way around her ice cream to prevent anymore from getting on her hand and then asked, “How many am I going to owe you in return and when is my official start day for delivery, if it hasn’t already passed?”

Jemma chuckled. “September eleventh,” she answered. She was unable to resist bringing her head to rest on Skye’s shoulder after Skye wrapped her arm around her so she set her head down and brought her ice cream up for a lick. “You’ll owe me twenty-five,” she added.

Skye turned her head and kissed the top of Jemma’s.

“That one doesn’t count!” Jemma blurted in a teasing tone before Skye could speak. She felt the warmth spreading in her belly again at the sound and feel of Skye’s laughter as it filled the air around them after bubbling up from her belly.

“Note to self,” Skye murmured through a chuckle. She kissed the top of Jemma’s head one more time and then leaned the side of her own down against it. “Happy almost-birthday, Jemma Simmons.”

“Thank you,” Jemma said. “And thank you for sharing your favorite science museum with me,” She added after a moment.

“Pleasure was all mine, Jems,” Skye answered, grinning to herself. For a few minutes they continued to eat their ice cream in a comfortable silence as people strolled by, walking dogs or heading on their way through the pathway that cut through the park.

“Where do you work?” Jemma asked once they finished their cones, had tossed their trash out in a nearby can and then had started walking again.

“In a store on South Street,” Skye answered, reaching to wind her arm around Jemma’s, she slipped her hand into the shorter woman’s, entwining their fingers together. The warmth that spread up her arm and through the her chest was immediate and Skye was quickly becoming convinced that it couldn’t just be a psychological effect. She knew infatuation was a bad thing but she felt powerless to conjure up the will to take a deep breath and a step back. She kept trying to remind herself that it had only been a day and they hadn’t had time to learn each other’s worst habits, baggage or insecurities. She struggled to make herself care about this concern. The fire was already burning and, honestly, all Skye wanted to do was keep dumping kindling and fuel onto it to build it up.

“Oh, lovely! Which one?” Jemma asked. She was well acquainted with the street from venturing up and down it since it was so close to the apartment and Avery’s Diner. Jemma was certain she would know wherever it was that Skye worked.

“Condom Kingdom,” Skye answered.

Jemma’s cheeks flushed. “The sex shop?” She blurted in a squeak before she could stop herself.

Skye snickered. “Yeah,” she nodded.

Jemma grimaced. “Do you get harassed by perverts all day while you’re working?” She asked.

Skye threw her head back and laughed. “W-What?” She stammered between her giggle fits.

Jemma blushed further and Skye noticed that the tops of her ears had even turned red. She filed that away as another of Jemma’s cute, endearing traits. “Well…I just mean…some of the things they must sell in there – I should think some unscrupulous characters must drop in from time to time! No?” She tried to explain herself as they came to a stop at the corner for a red light. Skye was still snickering – eyes squelched up from her cheeks pushing them shut, teeth showing and shoulders bobbing. “Don’t laugh at me! It’s an honest thought!” Jemma whacked Skye’s side lightly with their clasped hands and Skye used her hand to pull her in closer.

“I’m not making fun of you!” Skye insisted. “I like the way your brain operates…you are adorable,” She kissed Jemma’s forehead.

Jemma pouted. “That’s a terrible thing to say to someone when discussing sex shops,” She sighed.

Skye snickered again as the light turned green. “If you’re fishing for compliments on your sex appeal, I think I’ve made it rather obvious in the last twenty-four hours that I want to see a lot more of you, preferably naked and fixing me with your bedroom eyes,” She pointed out as the light changed and they started crossing the street. Another three-quarters of a block and they would be at Jemma’s door. Skye tried to ignore the disappointment that dropping Jemma off  for the night was bound to leave her with, but at least she knew this wasn’t something that was going to disappear on them. “In case you didn’t follow that,” Skye added in a conspiratory whisper, “This is my official affirmation that you, Jemma  - wait, what’s your middle name?” She asked suddenly.

Jemma let out a loud snort of laughter and grimaced. “No. Nope. Nuh-mm,” she shook her head. “We’re not there yet, no way.” She shook her head a few more times.

“Ooooooh,” Skye sung out with great amusement and curiosity, “That bad, huh?” She arched her eyebrows. Jemma nodded. “Jems! That only makes me more curious!”

“Hey, wait! Go back to the compliment you were about to lay on me!” Jemma attempted to redirect, lifting their hands and poking Skye in the ribs.

“Jems…” Skye stopped at the bottom of the stoop and turned to face Jemma. “A compliment is not what I want to lay on you,” She exhaled a soft sigh and smirked.

“Hm,” Jemma took a half step closer to Skye and brought her hands up to play with the open collar of Skye’s Phillies henley shirt, the same one she had been wearing since the game yesterday. “And what, exactly, do you plan on laying on me, then?”

Skye’s fingers slipped along the curve of Jemma’s hips and she used the leverage to pull Jemma to her by her waist. “Myself, perhaps?” She replied, pulling her bottom lip in and pressing her teeth lightly into the corner of it as her eyes bored into Jemma’s.

“Hmmm…” Jemma hummed as her fingers came to rest along the front of Skye’s clavicle. “I don’t think it counts as a compliment to tell someone you want to lay yourself atop them…” she teased, fighting to keep the corners of her mouth from turning upward.

It was Skye’s turn to laugh then. She nodded. “Okay, fair enough,” Skye made a show of loudly clearing her throat. “JEMMA SIMMONS – YOU ARE AN IRRESISTIBLE SEX GODDESS AND I WANT TO LAY MYSELF ON TOP OF YOU-,”

“OH MY GOD, S-STOPPP!” Jemma was in a fit of hysterical laughter, cheeks and tops of her ears beet red as her hands flew from Skye’s collarbones to clamp over her mouth. “Are you mental? I have neighbors!” Fitz and Bobbi among them! Still, Jemma was snickering.

Skye pursed her lips and kissed against Jemma’s palms. She tried to reply, her eyes never leaving Jemma’s face, taking note of the way the corners of Jemma’s eyes scrunched into crinkles whenever she laugh, but with Jemma’s hands covering her mouth all that came out was, “Yomfh ascht orfed tiff!”

Jemma snickered again and shook her head. “Do you promise not to disturb the peace if I let go?” She was smiling a dreamy little grin still from the way Skye had kissed her palm gently before she had mumbled unintelligibly. Skye kissed Jemma’s palm again then and nodded a couple of quick times, holding her hand up with her thumb holding her pinky down to signify scout’s honor. Jemma made a face and smirked. “Were you a girl scout?” She asked.

Skye arched her eyebrows. Jemma pulled her hands from Skye’s mouth and set them lightly on her shoulders. Skye’s arms circled her waist again. “No, I wasn’t a girl scout, but I love their cookies.” She grinned. “And you asked for confirmation of your sex appeal. I was merely granting your wish,” She said, the picture of innocence as she grinned at Jemma.

“Mhm,” Jemma hummed as the right corner of her mouth tipped upward. “What was that again about me being a sex goddess and you wanting to lie on top of me?”

“I’d like to make a habit of it, quite frankly,” Skye replied, leaning closer to Jemma but stopping just shy of kissing her.

“I do believe arrangements can be made to satisfy this desire…” Jemma murmured, her lips just barely far enough away to graze against Skye’s. Skye closed the distance between them as Jemma slipped her arms around Skye’s neck and shoulders to pull her in closer as they stood there kissing for a few long moments.

Reluctantly, once her lungs needed air, Jemma broke their kiss. Standing out front of her house kissing Skye was a good way to get caught and earn a ribbing from Fitz or Bobbi. Jemma was only mildly concerned about this though since she would much rather deal with an earned joshing than stop kissing Skye. _Addiction_ , Jemma reminded herself, confirming it internally. _This is definitely an addiction – and an instant one at that._

Skye inhaled a quick gulp of air and was just about to begin to say a proper goodnight but Jemma spoke first to say, “I know we’ve spent over an entire day together already and I wouldn’t blame you if you said no, so that you could go home to sleep in your own bed without having to suffer through kitten allergies, but,” Jemma paused to take a breath as her eyes locked on Skye’s. “I would really like it if you stayed the night…” She said that last bit in a soft, hopeful tone, trying to leave it as open as possible for Skye to shoot down without feeling guilty.

Skye swallowed and turned her head to glance at the front door to the home. Would staying another night ruin what they had managed to establish – assuming they had indeed managed to establish something together in this short time span – in twenty-eight or so hours? Should she say goodnight and then settle for calling Jemma tomorrow to see when they could meet up again? Skye’s eyes found their way back to Jemma and before she could talk herself out of it, she said, “I would like nothing better,” with a dopey smile plastered across her face.

A broad grin stretched all the way across Jemma’s lips and Skye swore she saw all of Jemma’s teeth in that smile before Jemma threw her arms around Skye’s neck and practically launched herself into Skye’s arms. Skye let out a laugh and caught her around the middle. Oh hell, she went ahead and spun her around too while they laughed. If they were going for this fast and furious falling for each other like-in-the-movies thing, they might as well go full tilt. Jemma laughed and kissed her again as Skye set her back on her feet. A moment later - and much too soon for Skye’s liking - Jemma broke away from her. Grabbing Skye’s hand, she tugged the taller woman along by her hand as she dashed up the stairs. Skye chuckled as she jogged after Jemma. She settled her free hand on Jemma’s waist and kissed from the top of her shoulder into the crook of her neck and grinned against her skin as Jemma leaned her weight back into Skye and let exhaled a content hum. She unlocked the front door and tugged Skye over the threshold by her hand again as they stepped through to Jemma’s apartment door.

“Well hello, little lovebirds,” The voice belonged to Bobbi, who had just come down from the stairwell, pulling her purse strap over her shoulder. “Just getting in, are we?” She grinned at the two of them.

Jemma’s cheeks flushed a light color of pink as she leaned into Skye’s side. “Hello, Bobbi, looks like you’re just heading out?” She asked rather than going for Bobbi’s baiting question.

“Why yes I am as a matter of fact,” Bobbi grinned. “Lynx and I had a nice long kitty chat today, I’ll have to fill you in all about it,” She smirked at Jemma.

“Indeed you will, perhaps on the train tomorrow,” Jemma smiled. “Have fun, stay out of trouble!”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Bobbi asked with a bright smile. She looked over at Skye as she pulled her keys free from her purse. “Skye, nice to see you again - liked that shirt yesterday too,” she teased as she headed for the door.

Skye merely gave Bobbi an easy grin and a waved. “Nice to see you too. Take it easy - don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” She called after Bobbi.

Bobbi let out a loud snort of laughter. “From what Mack’s told me, that doesn’t scratch too many options off the list!” She called over her shoulder as she pulled the front door shut behind her.

Skye chuckled and turned back to Jemma to see her still blushing. Skye squeezed her hand. She made a show of taking a deep breath through her nose since it was bound to get a bit stuffy once they walked inside. “Hi,” She said as she pulled Jemma closer by her waist.

“Hi, yourself…” Jemma murmured. She slipped her hands along Skye’s arms and looped them around her shoulders just before she dropped her face down into the crook of Skye’s neck to stifle a yawn.

Skye snickered. “Those are contagi-,” she cut off her comment as she caught the yawn bug. “Ous,” She said once she finished. “Long day, huh?” She reached up to tuck some of Jemma’s hair behind her ear.

Jemma nodded. “The perfect ones usually are,” She smiled and lifted her head to steal a few kisses before she let them into the apartment. Jemma locked the door behind them and led Skye by the hand back to her bedroom. She left Skye with some shorts and an oversized old concert T-shirt to change into as she ducked into the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. When she returned, Skye was lying on one side of the bed, in Jemma’s borrowed pajamas, playing with Lynx. The kitten kept rushing from Skye’s belly, up her torso and burrowing into the crook of her neck under her chin to nuzzle her, letting out playful little yowls every time she succeeded in getting past Skye’s joking defenses. Jemma couldn’t help but smile.

Skye sniffled through a stuffy nose and tickled at the kitten’s side to get her off guard. A moment later, she scooped Lynx up and deposited her all the way down into her lap this time. She leaned up on her elbows as Lynx began to bound of her torso, only to get stuck at her belly as Skye laughed. Lynx panicked and tried to grab hold of the shirt. “You’re relentless, huh?” Skye snickered and then lifted her hands up to sneeze into them.

“She’s very dedicated to any task she deems worthy,” Jemma said as she stepped into the room. “I left an extra toothbrush on the sink for you. There’s some allergy tablets in the medicine cabinet behind the mirror if you those would help with the stuffy kitty nose?” She arched her eyebrows.

“That’d be great,” Skye grinned. She scooped Lynx up and stood up, handing the kitten to Jemma after she stole a kiss. As she was walking away, Lynx let out a mewl and sprung from Jemma’s hands to Skye’s shoulder. Skye froze for a moment. She blinked and then ducked her face into her hands again as another sneeze came.

“Lynx! You silly kitty,” Jemma reached for the kitten and tugged her free from Skye’s shoulder amid kitty protests.

“I think she likes me,” Skye chuckled.

“She has good taste, obviously,” Jemma grinned and Skye blushed just enough for Jemma to notice.

After Skye finished in the bathroom, switched off the lights and settled into bed together. Lynx dashed off after attacking a toy ball and sending it flying into the living room, which gave Skye a little relief on her allergies as she waited for the medicine to kick in.

“You know, if you’re not careful,” Skye said once they were tangled together under the covers of Jemma’s bed for the second night in a row, with their legs jumbled together, arms tucked all about each other and Jemma nuzzled into the crook of her neck and shoulder, Skye’s chin resting against the top of her head. “I might get used to you,” Skye whispered her ominous warning from earlier in the van.

“That’s the plan,” Jemma replied easily through a slight yawn. She kissed Skye’s collarbone and before long the two of them were restfully slumbering, breathing evenly, wrapped together comfortably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you that are interested:  
> The Mütter Museum - http://muttermuseum.org/ If you're ever in Philly, the place Skye took Jemma is definitely a place to put on your To Visit list! It's endlessly fascinating and weird and still somehow lovely because of it!


	3. Sunrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning:** NSFW!
> 
> This is for Panyan, for so patiently waiting for a bucket of fluffy amid all the other anxiety riddled, action packed cliffhangery updates I've made over the last couple of weeks! Hope this makes up for your the torment!!   
> ;)  
> <3 
> 
> It's 3am here, so I did the best I could on editing, please feel free to point typos, errors out to me otherwise, forgive me my slip ups!! <3
> 
> Thanks, as always for reading! Thanks also for the kudos, comments and love!!  
> I owe some of you replies and I promise I'll get to them in a few hours when I wake up and get into work!  
> <3<3
> 
> \------------

**_September 10_ ** **_th_ ** **_– 11_ ** **_th_ ** **_2016_ **

With a mild heat wave and a rare alignment of schedules, all six of their group (Jemma, Skye, Bobbi, Lance, Fitz and Mack) were free to make a last minute trip down to the shore in south Jersey for an overnight stay to celebrate Jemma’s birthday. It was after Labor Day so they managed to find a set of rooms on the cheap at the Sahara motel, just off the beginning of the Boardwalk and the beach in Wildwood. Around seven in the morning, that Saturday, they had piled into Skye’s van bogged down with duffle bags, snacks, sunglasses in place and a road trip playlist blaring from the stereo for off-key singalongs during the hour and a half ride to the small shore town. The ride was rowdy and raucous and they were famished for something more than apples, doritos and Swedish fish. Since they still had time before check in, Skye parked them outside of Samuel’s Pancake house on 17 th street and they piled out of the van, stretching and carrying on, hyper from the drive.  

It didn’t take long to get a table and order food. The conversation had an easy flow to it. This was rapidly becoming one of Skye’s favorite things about the group of them when they were all together. There was an easygoing air about them. Everyone was interested in what the others had to say, jokes were taken lightly, debates were lively but jovial. They were cohesive. Despite the cohesion there were still mysteries to unravel about each other, still topics that they were learning to avoid at certain times. Skye would have been content to spend all of her time alone with Jemma but since that was an illogical train of thought, she was more than happy to be enveloped by the blending group as it found its common ground and emulsified.

After breakfast, they loaded back into Skye’s van and drove the last few blocks to check into the Sahara motel, a three story motel painted white with bright peach-orange doors, matching trim and matching umbrellas on its sun deck patio. It had a fenced in heated pool in the middle of its property that the rooms made an L-shape around on two sides and the parking covered the opposite L-shape. Skye had splurged on the off-season fares to grab her and Jemma a third floor corner room with a king-size bed and a view of the boardwalk and ocean. It wasn’t overly fancy but the room was just there for a place to bunk for the night.

Once everyone had settled their things in their respective rooms, which were clustered on either side of Jemma and Skye’s room, they gathered their beach bags, towels and chairs, grabbed their cooler from Skye’s van and trekked under the boardwalk and across the long expanse of sand that led to the shoreline. After checking whether or not the tide was coming in or going out (it was going out) they picked a spot to lay out their gear. Two picnic blankets were unfolded and weighted down by shoes and bags on the corners to keep them from flying away. The remaining bags and towels were placed in the middle to keep sand off of them. Beach chairs ringed the square of fabric as seagulls squawked a soundtrack intermingled with the lapping crashing crescendos of the waves against the wet sand.

For the first half hour, they lounged off their breakfast food comas and sipped on their drinks, letting the sun warm them out of their T-shirts and swimsuit covers. After that, they

slowly broke off into their own pairings, edging away from the group and back throughout the day like the ebb and flow of the tide in front of them. After their first hour or two lying in the sun, reading and occasionally chatting, Skye turned on her side on the blanket she and Jemma were sharing. Jemma was lying on her stomach, reading through a science journal in a sleepy sun haze, her hair tied up on her head in a messy nested bun to keep it off her shoulders. She was on her second application of sunscreen already, hoping to protect her pale, freckle speckled skin from a sunburn at the tail end of summer. The wind whipped small wisps of stray strands of her golden brown hair around her forehead.

Skye contemplated the merits of attempting to map the constellation clusters of freckles about Jemma’s back, shoulders and forehead. She reached out and played an absent form of connect the dots along a patch of darker mole specks between her shoulder blades with the pads of her fingers as she leaned over and kissed the edge of Jemma’s shoulder, took in the scent of Jemma’s shampoo (gardenias with just a hint here and there of vanilla and citrus) as it mingled with the sunscreen that had soaked into her skin not so long ago.

Jemma’s eyebrows hiked over the rim of her sunglasses and her shoulder hunched slightly as she turned her head just in time to drop a kiss into the hair at the top of Skye’s head before she pulled back to look at Jemma. “Hi,” Jemma murmured just loud enough over the rumble of the ocean for Skye to hear her, smiling as Skye rested her chin against the edge of Jemma’s shoulder where she had just kissed.

“Hi,” Skye echoed with a grin. “Wanna go for a walk?”

A smile twisted across Jemma’s lips. She had just enough time to say, “That’d be lovely,” before Skye closed the scant breach between them to kiss the corner of her mouth, which caused a small chuckle to escape Jemma’s throat as she returned the favor just before Skye pulled away and climbed to her feet in the sand.

Skye held her hands out to Jemma with a bright infectious Cheshire-sized smile showing off her teeth. They might have only known each other for just under two weeks, but Jemma already knew there was a gleaming glint of mischief in those deep brown eyes which were artfully hidden behind a pair of sunglasses at the moment. Jemma made no effort to hide the way her gaze traveled from Skye’s shins up the length of her body as she slipped her hands into Skye’s and let Skye help pull her to her feet. Skye’s hair was up in a messy ponytail and she had shimmied her way out of her very short denim cut offs an hour earlier. Her already sun-kissed skin felt warm against Jemma’s palms.

They let Bobbi and Lance know they were going for a stroll as the two came back from a dip in the water and then left their stuff behind in their beach bags and stepped on their way through the loose, warm sand, down to the firmer, wet, lukewarm sand, letting the last swooping washes of waves glide over their feet as they walked. They fell into step easily with each other, walking close together, arms weaved around each other’s until their hands clasped to keep them wound together on their stroll.

“Do you remember the first time you ever went to the beach?” Skye asked as they walked synchronized at a leisurely pace, leaving a trail of footprints indented into the wet sand until a wave could seep close enough inland to wash them clear.

Jemma tilted her head back slightly as she rolled her eyes upward beneath her sunglasses, thinking the question over. “I was too young to actually remember the very first time, but I’ve seen pictures of myself eating handfuls of sand,” She gave Skye a lopsided grin as she scrunched her nose up at the idea of it as Skye tipped her head back and chuckled at the mental image. “But, the first time I remember going to an actual beach, I was...four.” she gave her head a firm nod as if to say ‘yes, that’s right, four years-old.’  “We were on holiday with family in Cala Llenya.”

“Where’s that?” Skye asked, keeping careful watch over Jemma’s face, sparing only a few glances ahead of them to make sure she didn’t stumble over anything in the sand or steer them into anything in their path.

“It’s part of Ibiza,” Jemma smiled. “It’s quite lovely but I’m afraid I had a horrid time my first go of it. The first day there I was bit on the finger by a velvet crab when I tried to pet it, then chased and bit on the big toe by it for being flung away, then I was stung by a jellyfish and when my dad convinced me to go back into the water, I was bit by a fish.” She was smirking this time as she scrunched up her nose. “I stayed safely on land after that for the rest of the trip and cried any time someone tried to carry me near the water.”

Skye was trying her best not to laugh at the story of poor baby Jemma getting attacked by sea creatures but she couldn’t help it. “How can you be so adorable even in story form??” She asked between her chuckles. “You are inhumanly perfectly adorable – I almost want to pinch your cheeks right now!”

“Please don’t!” Jemma laughed. “These cheeks do not accept pinches, only kisses,” she gave a solitary, firm nod and Skye was quick to lean over and cover Jemma’s cheek and jaw in a series of quick kisses, sending them stumbling to the side in the sand as Jemma let out a squeal of snickers.

“Those still don’t count as birthday kisses, you know,” Jemma warned gravely as she and Skye righted them back onto the invisible path they had trekked.

“Fair enough,” Skye stopped walking and used Jemma’s hand she was holding to pull her closer as she reached out and cupped Jemma’s cheek with her free hand just as she was pulling her in for a lengthy kiss that made Jemma’s pulse race and her knees wobble. As if she’d read Jemma’s mind, Skye’s fingers traced around the curve of her hip to the small of her back and she pulled Jemma to her, supporting her weight while pressing them flush together, skin to skin but for the small bits of cloth that made up their two piece swimsuits. Jemma unconsciously let go of Skye’s hand and looped her arms around her shoulders instead. Holding on for dear life, Jemma threw herself into that kiss with equal fervor, blissfully ignorant of any possible prying eyes from late season beach goers. All Jemma knew in that moment was that Skye ignited a fire in her the likes of which she was sure she had never experienced before and she wanted to do everything she could to prevent it from ever burning out.

Eventually they both needed oxygen, so Skye rather reluctantly broke the kiss. She didn’t let Jemma get very far though as she leaned their foreheads together and nuzzled her nose to Jemma’s. “One,” She started the official birthday kiss count with a lopsided grin, winded and content to have the sun beating down on them while she held onto Jemma by the waist.  

A broad grin broke across Jemma’s lips and she pulled Skye into a tight hug, turning and kissing some random spots along Skye’s temple, cheek, jaw and neck as she did. Part of Jemma was positively terrified of the intense feelings she had already developed for Skye in such a short span of time. The other part of her wanted to dive headlong into the abyss with a running start before she had time to second guess herself.

“Don’t look now,” Skye murmured after kissing her shoulder. “But there’s a crab behind you…”

Jemma’s arms unlocked from Skye’s neck and shoulders almost instantly and she spun around to look. Even though it was an extremely slow moving horseshoe crab, with its tank-like shape and pointy tail, she let out a squeal of fear and tried to flee behind Skye while wrapping her arms around Skye’s torso in a diagonal lock. She tried to beat a hasty retreat but not without pulling Skye with her. Skye snickered at the fact that Jemma tried to protect her by pulling her along in the retreat instead of just fleeing without her. Somehow in the shuffle of it all, as Skye tried to reassure Jemma that it was just a joke and the horseshoe crab wasn’t going to injure her, Jemma wound up leaping onto Skye’s back piggyback style.

Skye stumbled in the sand a bit, but was laughing as she quickly hooked her hands under the backs of Jemma’s knees to keep from dropping her. She managed to regain her balance without toppling them into the sand or the water as Jemma clutched at her, hugging her around the shoulders. Skye couldn’t help but grin a bit. She felt bad for having scared Jemma but finding it fairly pleasant to have Jemma wrapped around her and pressed to her like that.

“They won’t hurt you!” Skye assured. She started to step closer but Jemma tightened her arms around Skye’s shoulders and squeaked so Skye went far around the horseshoe crab. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” she assured, easily walking with Jemma hanging onto her. It wasn’t as if Jemma was very heavy. Skye leaned her head back and turned it to kiss Jemma’s cheek. “You squeak like a mouse,” she informed Jemma with a small smile.

“You’re mean,” she said, though she did lean into the kiss Skye placed on her cheek.

“You’re right, I’m terrible,” Skye agreed and kissed Jemma’s cheek once more. “How can I make it up to you?”  She asked as she turned her head to look ahead at their path.

“Hmm…” Jemma hummed and leaned her head against the side of Skye’s and adjusted her grip around Skye’s shoulders to make sure she wasn’t choking her. “I’ll come up with a list for you once we head back to the motel later,” She murmured before she turned her head and her lips were against the edge of Skye’s earlobe.

Skye exhaled a huff of air. “A list?” She asked.

“It was cruel to prey on my fears just to get me wound all around you,” Jemma practically purred into Skye’s ear. Skye tried to focus on walking as the butterflies fluttered about her belly in a dizzying swarm of warmth. “Hence the list,” Jemma nibbled at Skye’s ear with the barest of pressure from her teeth and Skye struggled not to drop Jemma as her breath caught in her throat.

“Sold,” She grinned and adjusted her grip on Jemma’s legs.

\--

When they came back from their walk, they laid back down on the blankets, closer together this time, talking quietly with each other as the sun baked them while they turned every so often so they’d be sure to keep their color even. Eventually, Skye convinced Jemma that it would be safe to go into the water. The waves and surf weren’t very rough and they weren’t tall waves either. The water was still warm from having the collective heat of the summer bear down on it, a pleasant temperature in the low eighties. It was enough to cool them from the sun and to enjoy floating around for a little while. Skye swept Jemma up out of the water bridal style right away when Jemma stepped on something she thought was a crab and squealed.

“It’s just a shell,” Skye assured her with a chuckle. Jemma panicked when Skye made to put her back into the water. Jemma hadn’t realized quite how strong Skye was until she carried her out of the water and set her on her feet in the wet sand. Piggyback style carrying was one thing but full bridal carry? It was a whole different ballgame. “Stay put,” Skye leaned over to kiss Jemma and then jogged off back into the water, roughly to the spot they had been in. Jemma stuck near the shore and didn’t let her feet into even the shallow bit of water that lapped at the end of each wave, still spooked from her long held fears. She watched with some mild trepidation as Skye took a breath and disappeared under a wave, mentally counting how long Skye was underwater…just in case.

Skye’s head popped up above the water line and Jemma breathed a sigh of relief. There was a grin on her face as she waded her way back to the shore and halfway there, Jemma spotted the small shell in her hand. It was a conch shell about four inches long from tip to tip with a spiral swirl of shades of white, pink, orange, sand yellow and peach. Skye grinned at her as she wrapped an arm around Jemma’s waist and held the shell out for inspection. “See, told you,” she kissed Jemma’s cheek. “It’s even empty,” she turned the shell over to show that there wasn’t still a conch living inside of it.

Jemma blinked. She reached out to take the shell as Skye passed it over to her for inspection. “…How did you know?” she asked as she leaned into Skye’s side and lifted the tiny shell to her ear to listen to the ‘ocean’ crashing sound of the blood flow in her ear echo back to her with a brilliant grin across her face.

“It felt smooth on my foot,” Skye grinned. “Crabs don’t. They pinch,” she smiled at Jemma.

“Now you’ve got yourself a pretty souvenir and we’ve only been here a few hours,” She said as they headed back toward the blanket to dry off and settle a little longer.

\--

Skye and Jemma were first to leave the beach, around three in the afternoon. They gathered their chairs, towels, bags and sandals and trekked back through the sand to the hotel, stopping to wash the sand off of everything at the small water spout on the corner of the motel that was only about two feet off the ground. They lugged everything into the motel room and set the chairs against the wall with the towels hanging from them to dry. They dropped their beach bags and shoes on the floor.

“Now what?” Jemma asked as she set her conch shell on the nightstand with a small smile.

“Shower?” There was an impish look in Skye’s eyes as she grinned at Jemma and held her hand out to beckon her over.

“Deal,” Jemma grinned. As soon as Jemma took her hand, Skye pulled her over and kissed her soundly on the lips.

“Two,” Skye murmured out the new Birthday kiss count and they stumbled toward the bathroom tugging at the strings on each other’s swimsuits as they went.

\--

A little bit after five, Jemma and Skye met up with the rest of the group. They climbed the stairs onto the boardwalk this time instead of walking under it like when they went to the beach. A few blocks down from their motel, they found a seafood restaurant to duck into for dinner. Fitz had managed to fall asleep on the beach and wound up with sunburn across one ear, one arm and half of his face, plus a corner of his chest. To try and dull the pain and also urge him out of his grumpiness, Mack and Bobbi were trying to feed him a few extra drinks throughout the meal.

With full bellies and light hearts after the meal, the group took to the boardwalk once more, strolling along and heading for the first pier. Slowly they began to break off from each other, Mack and Fitz wandering off into one of the larger arcades on 26 th street, Bobbi and Lance heading into the pier and down under it to hit up one of the go kart tracks. Jemma and Skye walked as they had been on the beach; their arms wound around each other’s and their hands clasped once more, leaning toward each other, walking at a leisurely pace as they took everything in around them in the waning sunlight of the day. They leaned close to each other whenever they spoke, occasionally stealing a kiss or two. Now and then the couples bumped back into each other and went to play a carnival game together, or jammed together for a few hyperactive selfies or to hop onto a ride together.

“Hold up, hold up,” Skye stopped her and Jemma’s trek on the way toward a cotton candy and kettle corn fix as they were passing by another game. This one was a basketball game that required a certain amount of free throws to sink into the basket to get any range of stuffed animals from tiny dinosaurs that would fit in someone’s pocket up to gigantic

Scooby-Doo’s that was the size of the kid currently trying in vain to get one with no luck. The girl’s older sibling kept rolling their eyes and trying to move the girl on from the game. The girl frowned as she made her last throw and it bounced off the rim. Skye caught it as it bounced from the backboard over the game operator’s head and tucked it under her arm. “I think I’ll give it a try – how many for the top row prize?” she asked the game operator as she reached into her back pocket.

“One for the smallest, three for the second row, five in a row for the top row,” He told her. “Three shots for four dollars,” He added.

Skye let out a whistle and pulled a five dollar bill and a few one dollar bills from her pocket so she could have six shots in total. She forked them over to the vendor and turned to the girl before her brother could drag her away. “Hey, don’t go far,” she gave the little girl a wink and stepped up to the shot line. Jemma watched curiously from a few steps behind Skye, near the two kids. She hadn’t considered what sporting skills Skye might have but she did know that these games were rigged to make sure people lost.

Skye bounced the ball a few times before it was propped in her right hand, with her left hand bracing the side of it. She bent her knees, ignored the sounds and lights all around her on the peer. She bent her knees and took her first shot with a practiced jump, pushing up from her toes. The first ball soared right for the basket, bounced off the rim; hit the backboard, dropped back down to bounce back and forth on the rim before it bounced off. The little girl’s shoulders slumped but there was a triumphant grin on Skye’s face as the vendor smirked and passed the ball back to her.

“I’ve got your angle now,” Skye grinned. She shifted her stance along the shot line, bounced the ball, bent her knees and after a slow breath, took the second shot. The ball went soaring through the air once again as Skye stood there waiting with her hands suspended in the air in her post-shot follow through motion, waiting for the outcome. With a satisfyingly loud swish the ball fell directly into the hoop, nothing but net. Skye threw her fists in the air and bounced on her toes with a cheer that echoed the waiting little girl’s cheer. She smirked back at the vendor as he bounced the basketball back to her.

Skye’s next two shots sunk with the exact same, satisfying swish and Jemma found herself unable to contain her excitement, cheering with the little girl and high-fiving her after the third successful shot. Two more and Skye would have her pick of the stuffed animals. Skye’s fifth shot bounced off the back rim with a backspin and sunk into the hoop, giving her four successful shots in a row. She gave the ball a few extra bounces and chuckled as Jemma, the little girl and the girl’s brother (along with a few other gathering strangers) gave her a drum roll by rapidly stomping their feet back and forth on the wooden boards of the boardwalk. Skye lined up the shot, bent her knees, ignored flashing lights and the loud bells and whistles of rides and games. With another jump, pushing up from her toes and knees, she took the shot, unperturbed even by the sudden flash of light and sound the vendor set off around the ring of the game, as a ‘we might have a winner here!’ alarm meant to make Skye falter. Her hands hung in the air above her head, one as if it was still bracing the side of the ball, the other hand turned down having pushed the ball already.

_ Swish _

There was a loud roar of cheering, from Jemma, Bobbi and Hunter (who had wandered

over to see what was going on), the little girl, the girl’s brother and a few stragglers who had been watching the show. The game vendor threw a fake smile on his face and told her she had her pick of any of the stuffed animals she wanted. Skye immediately crouched down and held her hand up to use her finger to motion for the little girl to come over. The girl’s brother gave her a push as she turned suddenly bashful in the moment. When she was close enough Skye nodded toward the stuffed animals hanging from the netting all along the sides and front of the game.

“Which one do you want?” she asked the girl.

The little girl’s eyes widened. “Me?” she asked, pointing to herself with her thumb.

Skye chuckled and nodded. “Yes, you,” She grinned at the little girl. When she picked a gigantic Scooby-Doo out, Skye told the vendor and waited for him to climb up the metal ladder on the side to unhook the stuffed mystery-solving Great Dane. Skye crouched back down to hand it over to the girl but the girl let out an excited squeal and threw her arms around Skye’s neck first. Skye chuckled and gave her a one-armed hug back as the girl profusely thanked her. “You’re welcome,” Skye grinned and ruffled up the girl’s already messy hair. “Go have fun,” she nodded toward the girl’s brother, who looked simultaneously pleased that his sister wasn’t grumpy anymore, and dreading the moment he had to carry that thing for the rest of the night.

Skye climbed back to her feet and stepped over to Jemma. Her cheeks flushed slightly as Bobbi and Hunter whistled and clapped for her, made a fuss over the spectacle she made. Skye made a show of jokingly balling her fists and bending her arms at the elbows to flex her muscles behind her pushed up hoodie sleeves before she gave Hunter’s arm a shove as if to say, ‘oh, get out of here!’

“We’re going to see if we can beat Mack and Fitz in some games at the arcade – meet us in another hour and we’ll find some more adult entertainment?” Bobbi arched her eyebrows.

Skye exchanged a glance with Jemma and they both nodded. “Sounds like a plan,” Skye gave her a thumb’s up and turned to Jemma once they left. Jemma slipped her hand into Skye’s and, as she pulled Skye closer by her hand, she leaned up slightly on her toes and kissed Skye’s cheek. Skye grinned at her. “What was that for?” She asked as they started to stroll around the boardwalk pier again.

“That was a very sweet thing to do,” Jemma answered, winding closer to Skye’s side.

Skye pushed her shoulders into a nonchalant shrug. “She looked so sad,” she ducked her head, bashful of the praise. Just like that, Jemma learned two things about Skye; Skye was extremely generous and she had a mean jump shot.

\--

With a small pocket-sized stuffed kitten Skye had won for her with a lucky toss of a softball into a barrel without it popping back out, the two met up with the rest of the group outside the arcade and decided they would look for somewhere that served up some alcohol and possibly some decent music on top of it. They took to the streets, joking around and laughing, causing a general ruckus in their wake as they wound their way in the general direct back toward their hotel.

They came across a bowling alley first and rearranged their game plan for a few games. It turned out that Jemma was a whiz at maths and angles and was a killer bowler. Skye, on the other hand, was emphatically not a good bowler, though she thought she deserved points for looking totally cute in the borrowed red, blue and green bowling shoes.

After a few pitchers of beer between them and Jemma, Fitz and Bobbi’s team had wiped the floor with Mack, Hunter and Skye’s team in a few games, the group hit the street again! Skye took a running leap onto Mack’s back for a surprise piggyback ride that barely kept them from toppling to the sidewalk in a howling heap of giggles. Bobbi and Jemma did their best to capture this all on steady film for social media posterity as Mack stumbled toward a rose bush in front of a house and barely managed to wobble in the other direction. Fitz attempted to stop them as they plowed toward him but nearly tumbled on his ass in the process. Thankfully no hospital visits were needed by the time they came across a decent enough looking club in the sleepy shore town just before midnight.

They crowded around a standing table and ran up a tab of drinks and shots. After a few rounds, Bobbi dragged Hunter away to the dance floor. Fitz and Mack huddled together talking over the intricate workings of a specific addition Mack was planning to add to his truck worked and how they could improve it. Skye stood close to Jemma, sipping lightly on a beer since she was already good and buzzed, and not just from the alcohol she’d had through the day. There was a grin on her face as she listened over the music and noise of the crowded club while Jemma explained the latest project she was working on and what kind of manipulation her team was doing on some form of bioorganic specimen.

Skye was not a stupid person but there were some obvious limits to her understanding of what Jemma was talking about. All the same, she was always content to listen attentively as Jemma rambled on and on ceaselessly with childlike excitement about science. The kind of science that Skye did swayed more heavily toward the electronics and coding end of the spectrum than the biological end though there was a point where all the biological, mechanical and software engineering aspects of the project had to come together cohesively to work. When she really didn’t grasp something, Skye would stop Jemma to ask her a question about it. This never really derailed Jemma’s enthusiasm or ability to barely stop for breath as she went through every little detail of an experiment. Instead, Skye’s attention and willingness to actually hear the words she was expelling rather than just staring at her with a blank expression of boredom like others had in the past never failed to make Jemma’s face light up with appreciation and glee. Skye already knew that she loved that look on Jemma’s face and even if there were times, like when she had had a little too much alcohol to keep up, that her brain wanted her eyes to glaze over, she forced her attention onto Jemma’s face, and her words.

There came a break in Jemma’s story when she stopped to grab her own beer to take a sip. It was clear to Skye that one topic had ended and she was about to segue into another.  

While Skye wasn’t really opposed to such a thing happening, the urge to dance with Jemma had crept in over the last few minutes so she waited for Jemma to set her beer down and had reached out to pull her over by a hand to the back of her jaw and side of her neck for a lengthy kiss that Jemma eagerly returned.

When Skye broke the kiss Jemma stared at her, eyes a blend of dazed desire as her mouth hung slightly agape. She blinked and Skye merely smiled that mirthful, impish, bright toothy smile at her. “Dance with me,” Skye said. It wasn’t a question. Though Jemma was buzzed enough for somewhat lowered inhibitions, she took a deep breath to protest that she was not dancing material but it was too late. Skye had already reached across her, grabbed Jemma’s right hand with her own and tugged her by the arm, spinning her around and twirling them right out onto the dance floor.

The resistance melted away from Jemma the moment they made it into the mass of writhing, bouncing bodies. She found the beat in the swing of Skye’s hips and the thrum of her pounding heart and decided she would let the heat of the moment and Skye’s proximity free her. Skye’s eyes never strayed from Jemma as she reached for her hip and pulled her closer. Every time Skye spun her around, she was quick to pull Jemma back to her. Whenever one of them landed a misstep, they stumbled heavily against each other, laughing it up and catching the other’s fall. They sung along with the crowd, bounced to the beat and threw their arms around each other – at the hips, at the waist, wherever they could reach in the thick of it as the floor shook with the weight of the dancers.

__ She took my arm  
_ I don’t know how it happened  
_ __ We took the floor and she said

__ Oh don’t you dare look back  
__ Just keep your eyes on me  
__ I said you’re holding back  
__ She said Shut up and dance with me!  
__ This woman is my destiny  
_ She said Ooh ooh ooh  
_ __ Shut up and dance with me

Jemma wasn’t sure there could have been a more perfect song for the moment they were in. Skye wouldn’t have had to give it a second thought to agree. They spun together, toes and balls of their feet bouncing them to the beat, laughter on their tongues between the words, clapping the breakdown drum beat. Bobbi and Hunter were somewhere in the crowd but the two of them had tunnel vision, each for the other, unable to break their stares.  

__ Deep in her eyes  
_ I think I see the future  
_ __ I realize this is my last chance

__ She took my arm  
_ I don’t know how it happened  
_ __ We took the floor and she said

__ Oh don’t you dare look back  
__ Just keep your eyes on me  
__ I said you’re holding back  
__ She said Shut up and dance with me!  
__ This woman is my destiny  
_ She said Ooh ooh ooh  
_ __ Shut up and dance with me

__ Oh don’t you dare look back  
__ Just keep your eyes on me  
__ I said you’re holding back  
__ She said Shut up and dance with me!  
__ This woman is my destiny  
_ She said Ooh ooh ooh  
_ __ Shut up and dance with me

_ Ooh ooh ooh Shut up and dance with me _ __  
__ Ooh ooh ooh Shut up and dance with me  
  
\--   


Skye and Jemma were the first of the group to leave the club to head back to the motel. They stopped at the table just before last call to pick up Jemma’s stuffed kitten prize (which Jemma tucked into the pocket of her hoodie) and to let Mack and Fitz know they were leaving. They had a five or so block walk back to the motel and by the time they reached the door, they were attached at the lips and Skye had Jemma pressed back against their motel room door. By the time Skye’s lungs were burning for air and she had managed to wrangle the key into the door lock, Jemma had blindly unhooked the button and zipper on her shorts. Just as Skye’s lips broke from Jemma’s and moved to her neck, Jemma’s hand slipped past Skye’s waistband. Skye was unabashed at the guttural moan that escaped her throat as her hips surged forward, seeking whatever friction they could find against Jemma’s touch.

Jemma grinned against Skye’s earlobe before her teeth scraped against the edge of it. “Door,” she reminded Skye since she wasn’t facing the right direction. Of course she also curled her fingers along the outside of the cotton of Skye’s underwear as she said it, eliciting another moan from Skye as her hips pushed her forward against Jemma’s hand.

Skye reached blindly for the door’s knob, grabbing uselessly against the air at first. Jemma wrapped her free arm around Skye’s neck and shoulders in preparation for the door swinging open, though she inhaled a gasp when Skye’s teeth scraped over the pulse point in her neck and nearly lost her grip. Skye’s hand found the doorknob and turned it. The door swung open and they stumbled inside as Skye’s hand wound into Jemma’s hair, nails scraped against her scalp. Just before they could stumble into the bed, Jemma broke their current heated kiss and chuckled. “Wait!” she pulled her hand free from Skye’s shorts to a disgruntled sound of protest from the taller woman. “Key,” she nodded toward the door.

There was a growl of frustration in Skye’s throat but she was smirking as she let go of Jemma and turned. She yanked the key out of the door and pushed it shut behind her without looking. By the time she tossed the key onto the table in the nearby corner and turned back, Jemma had already kicked out of her shoes, tugged her hoodie and t-shirt off together in one swoop and was just stepping out of her shorts. Skye paused a for just a heartbeat’s length, admiring the beautiful sight before her in the moonlight coming in through the windows as a slow, predatory smile spread across her lips. A matching, ravenous crooked grin twisted over Jemma’s mouth.

They reached for each other, colliding, lips and teeth crashing together feverishly. They shuffled toward the bed, breaking apart so Skye could ditch her shirt and hoodie. Skye stumbled as she tried to kick out of her shoes and Jemma righted them just long enough for Skye to free her feet from her worn out black converse sneakers. There was just enough time to hook the hem of Skye’s shorts and underwear and push them down over her hips before the backs of Jemma’s knees hit the bed and they tumbled to the mattress together in a heap of limbs and snickers.

Though they both had some hectic schedules, Skye and Jemma had both found some creative ways to meet up during the free spots where their schedules aligned. Some of them had just been for a quick coffee chat, for a meal, for a night in or one out. It had been ample time to learn specifics about likes and dislikes (both in and out of bed) but not enough to remove that surge of excitement of the unknown adventure that lay ahead of them. Either one of them could spring a surprise on the other out of the realm of so-far-acquired knowledge of the other. It was an extra layer of adventure, possibilities that were fairly boundless really.

Jemma wasn’t sure if she could say she loved Skye, but she knew for sure that things were barreling headlong in that direction and it was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. Jemma focused more solidly on the former rather than the latter, unwilling to let anxiety interfere with the emotional (chemical) feelings that Skye conjured within her. Jemma had been sure to hand deliver her pie and coffee drops to Skye in her van on the days she worked at the diner. Skye was sure to have extra allergy tablets tucked into her bag for visits to Jemma’s apartment so she wouldn’t wind up a stuffy, teary-eyed cat allergy mess. All free time possible was relegated to checking what the other was doing to see if they could meet up.

Skye felt such a strong pull to Jemma, from that very first moment she had dropped into the seat in the stadium next to Jemma during the baseball game up until this very moment that feeling had only increased exponentially in the days since they had met. Above any misgivings she had about how quickly she was falling for Jemma was the undeniable desire to know every single thing there was to know about Jemma Simmons, however small the detail. Skye wasn’t willing to let her fear of letting someone in only to lose them in the long run interfere with this budding relationship, hell no.

They slowed momentarily, fit themselves together effortlessly, without having to give it conscious thought; something both of them thought was remarkably easy, like proper puzzle pieces clicking into place.  Cured legs coiled around each other’s, hot cores slick with arousal pressed tight against jutting pelvic bones, bellies and chests pressed flush, arms wound around each other, tracing shoulder blades and spines, fingers tangling into hair, nails scraped against scalps. There were whispered murmurs interjected between long, slow kisses that nearly fused their mouths seamlessly together, lower halves rocking back and forth in rhythm, slowly winding the coil.

“It’s past midnight,” Skye murmured when she broke from Jemma’s mouth and trailed a maddening ghost light line of pecks along her jaw and the side of her neck, stopping just before the one spot on Jemma’s collarbone that made her spine shake.

“…Yeah,” Jemma absently grunted the word out. She curled her fingers in Skye’s hair, scraping lightly against her scalp, barely restraining from pulling Skye’s head to send the next kiss to the next logical spot, the one that drove her mad. She knew Skye had deliberately stopped just before it.

Skye grinned. She almost chuckled but she knew Jemma would get her back later if she did. She’d probably get her back later anyway but Skye didn’t mind a good tease every now and then. She leaned back and fixed her gaze and crooked grin on Jemma. “Happy Birthday, Jem,” she beamed before she closed the scant gap between them and brought their mouths together again, swallowing the small chuckle Jemma expelled.

Skye rolled them, pressing her hip tighter against the rolling pass Jemma surged up to grind against, until Jemma was on her back. She broke their kiss again leaving just enough space so she could look down at Jemma and asked, “What do you want for your birthday?” Her voice low and suggestive, she traced her fingers along the side of Jemma’s neck, over her collarbone and around curve of her breast, grinning as Jemma’s body arched against her.

Their eyes met and there was a hungry, almost expectant gleam in Jemma’s that caused the pull in the pit of her belly to spring tighter. Skye’s hips unconsciously rolled, grinding them both toward their end goal at a painfully slow pace still. Jemma’s body writhed beneath hers, impatient for more. “Everything you’ve got,” Jemma echoed as she had those first couple of days they’d spent together.

Skye’s eyes lit up like a famished wolf about to pounce on its prey, gleeful of the meal it was about to devour. “Sold,” She flashed Jemma a wicked grin. She leaned in, stopped just before Jemma’s lips could reach hers in a kiss, ignoring the growl of frustration that left Jemma’s throat as both Skye’s mouth moved out of range and she shifted away from where their lower halves were pressed tight together. A moment later, Jemma’s body arched upward off the mattress as Skye’s teeth scraped over that one particular spot on Jemma’s collarbone right before they dragged over her right nipple. A tremor shook down Jemma’s spine as Skye’s mouth closed around her breast.

Hands traced over Jemma’s body with reverent adoration, grazing over pressure points that made Jemma’s hand fist tighter into Skye’s hair, made her forget how to breathe as her body squirmed on the bed of its own reflexive accord. Skye’s name swirled off her tongue in a breathless gasp as Skye’s fingertips ghosted over the wet flesh between her legs. The slow trek Skye made down Jemma’s body was agonizing in all the best ways possible. By the time Skye’s lips closed over her clit and the hood of her folds, Jemma was desperate for release.

Skye kept the pace measured, not quite working Jemma over enough to get her there just yet. She traced her fingers along Jemma’s folds and took her time sliding one digit inside and stroking against the corners of spongy flesh she knew would make the walls shutter. Listening to Jemma’s pleas for more she timed her strokes to the pull of muscles against her finger, adding a second and finally a third, careful to keep up with the buck of Jemma’s hips off the mattress. She replaced her mouth with the pad of her thumb over Jemma’s clit and rolled it in time with the in and out stroke of her fingers as Jemma rode down on them. Skye braced the back of her hand with her leg just above her knee as she made her way back up the bed, straddled over one of Jemma’s legs up by her hip while Jemma’s other leg curled around her.

Leaning on her elbow next to Jemma’s shoulder, she watched the way Jemma simultaneously fought to hold on and to unwind all at once. She clenched her eyes as her body rocked against Skye’s ministrations. Her hands clawed at Skye, along her back and shoulders, clenching against Skye’s scalp, clinging on for dear life. Skye cleared Jemma’s forehead of strands of her sweat matted hair and Jemma’s eyes popped open, pupils dilated with lust, her mouth hung open, unashamed at the strangled moan her vocal chords released from the back of her throat.

Skye’s own hips rolled, ground herself along Jemma’s hip while her braced knee forced her fingers deeper. Jemma’s hand gripped at Skye’s wrist and thigh, trying to ground herself as her body rocked.  Their eyes met and Skye saw the beginning of it as Jemma’s pupils engulfed the remainder of her irised. There was a moment of suspension, of Jemma’s muscles stalling, flexed and rigid, teetering right on the precipice.

“Let go,” Skye whispered, withdrawing her fingers halfway as she said it. She watched the moment Jemma’s coil sprung free, rolled her thumb back and forth over her clit as she pushed and pulled against the wild buck and snap of Jemma’s hips as she crashed over the edge into her climax. Unable to resist the urge, Skye dropped her head and captured Jemma’s mouth with her own, swallowing the next loud cry Jemma let out in a kiss. She rocked in time with Jemma, pulled against the convulsing muscles as they contracted around her hand, tangled the fingers of her other hand in Jemma’s hair as Jemma rode the waves out as long as her body allowed until she finally collapsed into the bed and Skye’s side.

Jemma tried to open her eyes but clenched them again as she could only see stars behind her vision for the moment. Her mouth hung open as her forehead perched against Skye’s sweat sheened collar bone, gulping down air as if she’d suddenly remembered how to breathe after nearly suffocating. Jemma was certain her heart must have stopped for a moment there. Skye stroked her hair and buried a kiss into the top of her head. She kept still, holding onto Jemma without moving yet, listening to the heavy pants of air as she felt them puff out against her chest in warm waves, causing the pull in her own groin to twitch, having been wound quite a bit herself.

“Alright?” Skye asked once Jemma had managed to catch her breath a bit. She hadn’t found her voice again, yet so Jemma merely nodded against Skye’s collarbone and absently kissed at the crux of her throat. Skye moved her leg and gently pulled her fingers free, tracing over Jemma’s core with ghost light touches that caused Jemma to shudder and curl closer into her embrace. Skye’s fingers grazed over Jemma’s hip and wound around her, pulling her close as they settled on their sides. She held onto Jemma as the last of the tremors rolled through her muscles at random, her body trying to reset from the frenzy.

Skye was just preparing to ask Jemma if she was okay again when Jemma lifted her head and leaned over Skye to roll her further toward her back. Before Skye could get a word out, Jemma’s lips were on hers. Skye’s arms looped around Jemma’s shoulders and wound into her hair as she threw herself into that kiss, one that lasted nowhere near long enough for Skye’s liking. Her protests were quickly cut off by Jemma’s hands palming over and squeezing her breasts as she kissed a hasty path to the heat between her hips, wasting no time. She wasn’t rushed, but she hadn’t drawn out the teasing as much as Skye had since she knew Skye wouldn’t need much to get there having already been fired up and ready to go.

Jemma shifted with each snap of Skye’s hips, moving so Skye’s legs were over her shoulders and so she could wind arms around the outsides of her hips. She held on to try and keep Skye’s writhing steady as her tongue struck along her folds, stroking in rhythm to the surge, lips pressing and sucking in time. She let the end of her nose edge against Skye’s clit each time her tongue surged forward or Skye’s hips rocked into her. Skye held onto the back of Jemma’s head, hand fisted in her hair, urging her on as she gasped Jemma’s name, thighs flexing against the sides of her head. Jemma’s hands strayed occasionally, groping against her torso, dropping back to her hips, curling around her thighs, holding on as she urged Skye closer and closer until Skye couldn’t hold back any longer. She crashed forcefully into the orgasm with a strangled cry in her throat, bucking against Jemma to ride the pulsing crests over and over, one hand clenched in Jemma’s hair, the other fisted into a handful of the covers against the mattress.

When her body ceased its spasms, Jemma peppered gentle kisses slowly all the way from her sex up the length of her body, over her heaving, winded torso, past her collarbones, up her neck, over the end of her chin and to the corner of Skye’s mouth as it hung open trying in vain to gather enough oxygen. Skye’s hand blindly found Jemma’s cheek as their bodies fit together once more, effortless and perfectly wound, limbs and all around each other; puzzle pieces clicked into place.

“Alright?” Jemma echoed Skye’s question from earlier and leaned her forehead against Skye’s.

“Mm,” Skye gave her head the barest movement that could be considered a nod. She opened her eyes but Jemma could see they were hardly focused at all for a moment and she grinned, rather proud of herself for causing the delirium.

When Skye had managed to wrangle her heartbeat and breath enough to actually speak, she exhaled a breathless, “Fuck, you’re amazing,” Before she closed the gap between them to kiss Jemma as she chuckled.

\--

For a long while, Jemma and Skye remained wound around each other. Both were spent enough for sleep but somehow they’d managed to stay awake, whispering in the darkness with only the moonlight lighting through the curtains of the windows, with gentle caresses of skin, equally soft kisses, offering up secrets that had yet to be revealed.

During a particularly sleepy moment between them, Jemma realized that the sky was starting to turn from navy to lighter shades of blue and blurted out a sleepy murmur of, “I want to watch the sunrise…”

Skye rolled enough to look over her shoulder out the window. She rolled back to Jemma, unable to come up with a reason this request should not be granted, especially on Jemma’s birthday. “Let’s go,” She grinned.

Jemma arched her eyebrows. “Really?” She had thought they would have collapsed into slumber by now but suddenly felt incredibly excited about the prospect of watching the sunrise along the very eastern shore of the country – the very beginning of the day for them – together with Skye on the cool sand of the beach.

“For you?” Skye stole a few kisses, grinning against them. “Anything, Jem,” she kissed her once more before they disentangled and climbed from the bed. Clad in not at all modest variants of cotton boy shorts and hoodies alone, they slipped from the room (with their phones and the room key tucked into one of their hoodie pockets of course) with a beach blanket and the comforter from the bed and padded barefoot under the boardwalk and onto the cool sand of the beach, joking and giggling the whole way, stealing a kiss here and there on the long walk down through the grassy dunes to the section of beach where it met the water.

Staying back from the waves to keep from getting wet, they laid down the beach blanket and then Skye wrapped the comforter around her shoulders and sat down so some of it would be under their bottoms and legs and the rest wound be around them. She held her arms open and waited for Jemma to set down in front of her, between her legs. Jemma bent her legs at the knees and leaned back against Skye. Skye bent her own knees and rested them against the sides of Jemma’s and wrapped the top half of the comforter around their upper halves while Jemma pulled the lower corners around their legs. Once they were tucked in, Jemma looped her arms around the outsides of Skye’s legs and settled back and Skye wrapped her arms tighter around Jemma, rested her chin on Jemma’s shoulders.  It was chilly out with the breeze coming off of the water but with Skye pressed against her and sharing the blankets, Jemma felt perfectly warm and content.

Skye brought them to the slightest sway as they sat there, watching the horizon. She turned her head and kissed the back of Jemma’s jaw. “Did you watch the sunrise a lot back home when you were we a kid?” she asked.

“Mmm…” Jemma hummed and leaned into the crook of Skye’s neck. “Only if I spent the night studying and happened to realize the day time was arriving without permission,” she scrunched her nose. “A couple of times I watched it after a night of stargazing,” she answered as Skye’s hands found hers and their fingers automatically entwined together.

Skye grinned and leaned the side of her head against Jemma’s. She struggled to remember the last time her heart felt so light and free, untethered even as she knew she wanted nothing more than for it to belong to Jemma for as long as humanly possible. “Stargazing, huh?” she asked.

Jemma nodded. Most of the stars were already disappearing as the sun began to brighten the sky before it had even crested over the horizon. “I could navigate us by them if we ever found ourselves lost at sea,” She teased.

Skye chuckled. “I think I’d be content to be lost anywhere with you,” she murmured just before she kissed the back of Jemma’s jaw once more. Jemma turned and captured her lips in a quick, sweet kiss. “How old were you?” she asked. Jemma arched her eyebrows curiously at her. Skye clarified, “when you started stargazing?”

“Oh!” Jemma grinned. “Gosh…I was…” she leaned back against Skye, both of them watching the horizon once more as they swayed. “Five?” she asked it as a question and then nodded to confirm her answer.

“Five?” Skye tried to think of what she was doing at five but she preferred to try and imagine little five year-old Jemma spending all night staring through telescopes at the stars instead. She let out a whistle. “You sound like the most adorable little overachiever ever,” she grinned.

“I was hardly adorable,” Jemma scrunched her nose up and shook her head.

Skye let out a scoff. “I don’t believe there’s a universe where you’re not adorable,” She protested.

“You might still be drunk,” Jemma teased and Skye laughed. “I had scoliosis,” Jemma offered without prompting after a moment. Skye’s smile faltered a bit but Jemma went on. “It’s no big…I had an operation on my back to correct it. It meant I had to spend a lot of time lying flat on my back,” she explained.

Skye’s eyebrows arched. “The scar?” she asked.

Jemma nodded. “Yes, the scar,” She confirmed. Skye had once asked about the scar in the middle of a short rendezvous they’d had in Skye’s van during Jemma’s break in her shift at the diner. Jemma had reminded her that they had limited time and had silenced her question with a kiss before they’d torn each other out of their clothes to get down to it. “Recovery meant a lot of lying flat in bed,” she wrinkled her nose. “Dad moved my bed outside at night so we could stargaze together.” A sentimental smile crossed her lips. “Been hooked ever since,” She grinned. 

Skye kissed her temple. “Way to go, Dad,” She grinned. “So that’s how you knew the constellation you named the cat after, huh?” 

Jemma grinned broader. She could have been rambling about anything and she knew Skye would have been listening to all of it attentively. “Nothing gets by you,” She said with genuine affection in her voice. Skye turned her head down and kissed the top of Jemma’s shoulder and Jemma turned to kiss her temple. They turned back to the horizon and snuggled up closer as they watched the sun cresting over the water and the colors as they painted the sky above them in magnificent splashes of brilliant color. 

**Author's Note:**

> Panyan issued me a challenge - The Fluffinator: to write a story that was fluff and only fluff!  
> This is my attempt to fulfill that challenge.
> 
> How m'I doing so far???  
> ;0)  
> <3
> 
> Also it should be noted that I stayed up wayyyyyy too late writing this last night and finished I at work this morning and only got to spellchecker half of it, so forgive me all my typos sins!!!


End file.
